


Winged Chronicle

by Pinkshuchan



Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Blood and Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Most of the Characters are Winged Humanoids, Mpreg mentioned, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-09-05 04:54:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 30
Words: 226,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16804036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pinkshuchan/pseuds/Pinkshuchan
Summary: Everytime he went to sleep, he would have dreams of winged people and flying among them. Not long after would he be haunted by nightmares. But surely they are just that; dreams right?He begins to question if that is the case after a winged boy like that in his dreams appears before him.Cross-posted with FFn.





	1. Prologue: I Dreamed I Could Fly

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! It's Pinkshuchan! A few years ago, I started my Vanguard fanfic Winged Chronicle. It's still ongoing at the moment, but I decided while I'm still working on it, I would start posting chapters on here. And it's perfect timing too since it's reaching the holidays (though the story takes place in summer).  
> I'm gonna post a chapter every day until it's caught up to where it's gotten on FFn leading up to Christmas. These first two chapters will be an exception since it's the first chapter and the prologue. I hope you guys enjoy the story!

Nothingness.

That was all there was. No ground, no sky, no light, no darkness. All that surrounded him was endless nothingness. He didn't know how he came to be here and why. He was just here; floating in one spot within the complete silence, waiting for something, anything to happen.

And then, from above, a tiny water drop sparkling like a small star in a night sky fell before him. He didn't know what was going on for as soon as it touched something, strong gusts of wind from many different directions surrounded him. Clenching his eyes shut, he used his arms as a shield to protect from being blown away, but would be impossible without solid ground to help keep his stand. And yet even the strongest gusts weren't able to make him move an inch. They blew for quite a while before the winds finally decided to calm down. He opened his eyes as he lowered his arms, awestruck with the change that had surrounded him.

What used to be endless nothingness became a field that went so far until it touched the bright blue sky. A gentle breeze blew around him, carrying with it a sweet scent that only the power of nature could provide. He closed his eyes yet again as he let everything sink in and let his body relax.

When he opened his eyes yet again, a surprise greeted him.

Six silhouettes surrounded him like statues that were placed in a circle for decoration. There was nothing to note about them as they didn't have distinguishing features from their faces or human bodies alone. But what did catch his attention was that they all had wings; each one a different colour. Red, aqua, green, gold, silver, and black. Who were they?

Before any theories could come to light in his mind, the six winged humanoids had begun to flap their wings and fly away. He could only watch sullenly as they flew farther and farther away above him, circling as they did so. He felt like he himself was a bird chained to one spot, like he was limited to where he could go and what he could do. He wanted to fly up to the sky just like those winged humanoids, to soar higher than the clouds.

But then, without warning, he felt himself being lifted into the air. He felt himself going higher and higher off the ground and had no idea how he was doing it. Yet it made him wonder; could he fly himself? Retrieving full control of his entire being again, he had begun to will himself to soar up even higher. And sure enough, he had begun to reach even higher, almost but not quite catching up to the winged humanoids.

This was incredible! He was so high up in the air and moving so fast yet he couldn't stop. He was even higher than some of the clouds. His heart felt light, his breathing was relaxed; he was broken free from his chains. He felt no fear, no worries, no despair. He just continued to soar through the sky, higher than ever, with the wind rushing through his hair, his clothes, his entire being. He was weightless. He was happy.

He was free.

He finally reached above the clouds, and the sight before him was absolutely breathtaking. There above the clouds were vast amounts of land similar to that on Earth. However, there was something euphoric about the land here. The grass shined the brightest green it could be and the flora was like anything he had never seen. Flowers of unusual designs and mixture of colours, trees with peculiar stances and leaves; it was all so new to him.

He noticed the winged humanoids from before motioning for him to follow. Unsure of what they wanted, he did as they asked and followed them farther through this heavenly paradise. As he flew closer to the ground, another sweet aroma wafted through his senses; stronger than when he was back on Earth. He followed the winged humanoids until they reached a nice, clear pond. It sparkled under the golden light of the sun like crystal. He felt his throat feel dry. The winged humanoids insisted that he have a drink. How could he refuse with how tempting it looked?

He cupped some of the water into his hands and brought it to his lips. He let out a relaxed sigh after he drank the cool, refreshing liquid. This water was unlike anything he ever tasted. It easily ran through his throat with ease and, though faint, he could've sworn there was a slight taste of fruit. This was truly nectar of the gods.

Satisfied, the winged humanoids had begun to fly away once again. He got up and continued to follow them. He didn't know where they were going, but he wanted to see more of this world. What more did it have to offer? He was surprised to see that they began to fly faster. Unsure of why they were doing so yet did not want to lose sight of them, he picked up speed of his own. But the winged humanoids only flew faster. What was going on?

He felt a strange feeling. Something was not right. When he came here, this place felt so peaceful; so carefree. But now, the feeling of uneasiness roamed over this land. The sky changed from its bright blue to a haunting black with dark clouds looming above. Below him, the once fertile land and exotic plants were consumed by crimson flames. The cool, crystal like pond was now polluted with dark red blood.

But that was not the worst of it. Something far more sinister was coming and it was going to hurt the most.

Before he could fly any farther, a surreal dark mist surrounded him. It was thick and suffocating. He could feel his entire body being crushed by the density. Bloodcurdling screams were the only thing he could let out as the air around him grew tighter and tighter. His vision started to blur and his body was numbing from the pain. He couldn't move; he couldn't break free from the sufferable darkness, and he could feel his conscious mind slipping away the longer he was trapped.

But then, the dark mist loosened itself around him, and he heard a voice calling out to him. He opened his eyes. Standing before him was another silhouette; a child. Though his vision was still blurred from the pain, he could see the child's expression filled with fear and devastation. The child reached out a tiny hand to him. Did this child come to help him? With the dark mist no longer restraining him, he could reach out and take that child's hand. He could be saved by this nightmare.

And yet he didn't move. Why was that? Did he fear that the child would do something far worse than that of the dark mist? Was his pride taking over, determined to escape himself? No, there was something still restraining him. There was no strength within him to move forward and take the child's help. And even if his strength wasn't drained, something kept him from moving closer, like something was trying to pull him away from the child.

And then, the unthinkable happened. The dark mist left him and went straight to the child. He pleaded for the child to get away, his voice cracked from the wave of screams he let out before. But the child did not move. The child was fixated on reaching to him.

"Run! Hurry!" he cried, begging the child to get away to safety. But it was too late. The child was already in the dark mist's grasp. He could only watch in dismay as the child was tortured with the dark walls of the mist; the sound of loud, painful, high pitched cries flooding through his ears. He couldn't bear to continue watching the traumatic scene playing before him but he couldn't find it in himself to look away. His sight blurred yet again, not from his physical pain but from the pain of the child's suffering. He couldn't stop the stinging drops of salt water from running down his burning cheeks.

The cries stopped the moment the child disappeared, drowning in the dark mist. At that moment, he felt himself being pulled farther and farther away from the mist. Surely he was now saved from this hell. But in actuality, he was falling, leaving the land above the clouds and back to the earth he came from.

He didn't know how long he had been falling for nor did he know how much longer until he reached the bottom. He couldn't stop himself from descending like this even if he tried. All he could do was wait until he reached the end of everything. He had begun to wonder what would happen after he reached the bottom. Would he go 'SPLAT' with his entire body cracked open like an egg, or would he be like a fragile, wooden puppet with his limbs breaking from his body the moment he hits the ground and his entire body scattered across the ground? He would know soon. He closed his eyes as he readied for his entire being to become one among the dead; cold, lifeless, trapped in eternal nothingness.

And then he would wake up.


	2. Chapter 1: Ordinary Day

The first thing that greeted him when he woke up was the blinding sunlight above a canopy of leaves, sheltering him from the summer heat. He could hear the sound of birds chirping from a distance and cicadas hiding in the nearby tree. A gentle breeze brushed against him as he laid there on the green wooden bench. He sat up and had begun to rub his temple, bringing himself to once again awaken his awareness of the reality he was in.

He was at the park he always went to, sitting on his favourite bench. It was his favourite place to nap during the warm seasons, providing the best atmosphere and temperature. Not like he could take advantage of that now though. Normally, the moment he would take a nap, not even the loudest noise could wake him up. Even the sound of children running and playing around him would not break through his slumber. But now…

"Damn, those dreams again."

He couldn't remember when the dreams started nor could he remember the trigger, but the same dream would appear every time he went to sleep; dreams about winged people and flying and how free he felt. And then the nightmares that still left him trembling once he woke back up. What did all this mean? Why was this happening?

He gave a deep sigh as he ran his fingers through strands of his own light brown hair. He lied back down on the bench; theorizing what the dreams could mean. Were they visions of both his deepest desires and his biggest fears? Were they abstract imagery of events from his past that he wished to forget? Or were they something else entirely?

"It figures I'd find you here."

He broke out of his thoughts to bring his attention to a familiar idiotic grin. "What do you want?" he questioned in his usual monotonous tone.

The 'grin' let out a sigh. "Does it ever occur to you that maybe I just wanna check to see how my best bud is doing?"

Both were silent.

Another sigh. "Geez! I'm hurt that you think so low of me, Kai."

Toshiki Kai could tell from the blond male's tone that he wasn't serious despite the use of words. Not wanting to stay around any longer, the brunet stood up and started to walk away. The blond haired male, Taishi Miwa, followed behind him.

"Okay, it's not a request from me," he continued, "But my mom is wondering if you'd like to have dinner with us. She's been concerned about how you're doing living alone and she's curious on your thoughts of that book she lent you."

'That's right!' Kai remembered. The last time he was there, Miwa's mother lent him a book for him to check out, hoping it would be of his interest. He would be lying if he said that it didn't pique his curiosity. He was not usually one with books, yet he felt drawn to this one for some reason. Maybe it was the book's concept or maybe just the look of the cover, but something tempted him to read it. It had been a while since he borrowed it. No doubt the woman in question that lent him the book wanted to hear his thoughts of it by now.

"Whatever," he replied with a shrug, "Didn't really want to cook tonight anyways."

Miwa grinned. "Of course you wouldn't say no to free food." The brunet didn't bother to respond. They continued to walk in silence out of the park and through the streets.

It appeared to be a normal day. It was already summer vacation so most of the kids were out playing and hanging out. Kai and Miwa were also out of school for now but had nothing planned through most of it. Miwa had been telling Kai non-stop about a resort he and his mom were planning to go to in a couple of weeks and wanted to invite the usually antisocial teen to tag along. The brunet, however, was not interested. He was not one for fancy places with lots of people and would prefer to spend his time with something else rather than spend a day at a burning hot beach.

They continued to walk through the crowded streets. It was not far to Miwa's house. They just had to pass a few more stores and cross one more intersection before they would reach the neighbourhood. Sadly, this walk wouldn't turn out to be as peaceful as they, or at least Kai, wanted it to.

"So we meet again, Toshiki Kai!"

The person in question silently cursed his luck. He recognized that voice all too well, and it was not one he wanted to deal with today either. He and Miwa turned their attention to the direction of the voice to be greeted by two familiar faces; a couple of underclassmen from their school. The one that called out to him glared at him with an expression of fury and determination. The other one, who was obviously his friend, was more nervous. It was easy to tell what they wanted, and honestly, Kai couldn't care less.

"This is it! You cannot escape!" the hot headed underclassman called out, "Today, I will finally defeat you at something!"

"Not interested," Kai simply replied; his voice stoic and unwavering. He continued to walk away. He didn't want to deal with this at the moment. The younger boy, however, wasn't going to take that as an answer.

"You're just scared that I'm gonna beat you at something one day, isn't it?!" he remarked with pride, "Figures. After all, this is no one as amazing as Katsumi Morikawa! Bow before your master!" The brunet just ignored him. "Hey! Get back here! We have unfinished business!"

But Kai continued walking. From a distance he could hear Morikawa shout something like "Izaki! Let me go! I need to take care of that bastard!" He hated dealing with idiots. They always did something to piss him off, especially when they did something unwanted. Hearing the familiar call of "Kai!" the brunet stopped to let Miwa catch up to him. They then continued on their way to the latter's house.

The first thing to greet the two boys once they got there was the warm, gentle, motherly smile of a beautiful middle aged woman. Tsukiko Miwa had been waiting for them; already preparing dinner for the three of them, as if she knew that Kai would agree to join them without being informed. It was strange and a little creepy out how she was sometimes able to predict what it was Kai would decide to do, but regardless, he considered her a kind and caring woman and couldn't help but admire her energy and enthusiasm.

Not much happened before dinner was ready. Miwa and Kai waited up in Miwa's room with the brunet lying on the bed, watching his blond friend play a new video game he recently got. There would be occasional conversation but it would usually come from the blond himself. Kai just simply listened, responding only with grunts when necessary. This didn't bother Miwa though. He knew that his friend was not a very talkative person, so he just left it be.

Before long, dinner was ready. The three sat down to eat and things were quite peaceful. Kai had always gone to eat over at Miwa's from time to time, but no matter how many times he would be invited, this feeling of a warm, loving family atmosphere felt foreign to him. He didn't mind it though. He would never admit it, but a part of him always wanted to be a part of something like this.

"How's the food, Toshiki?" Tsukiko broke Kai out of his thoughts. The brunet had been eating quietly as his mind travelled off.

"Needs more onions," he simply replied.

"You eat too many onions and you may just turn into one yourself," the blonde woman scolded the teen, "They may be good for you but please try to eat the rest of your vegetables. You're still a growing boy."

Kai scowled as he continued eating. The rest of dinner consisted on conversation between Tsukiko and Miwa; Kai joining in only when directly addressed to. It was the usual topics they conversed in; how their days were, plans for the rest of the summer, Tsukiko even mentioned she wanted to do something for Kai's birthday since it was coming in almost a month.

When they had finished eating, Miwa offered to handle the dishes, leaving Kai to handle with his friend's energetic mother. The blonde woman gave him her biggest grin as she got herself more comfortable.

"So Toshiki," she began, "How is the book I lent you? Do you like it? Be honest!"

Kai gave a sigh as he ran his fingers through his spiked hair. "It's not bad," he answered bluntly. Truth be told, he actually enjoyed the book. The moment he sat down to read it after getting his hands on it, he couldn't put it down. The story entranced him, the words pulled him in like magic, and the entire experience felt real. "I still have it back at home though so-!"

Tsukiko only chuckled. "No trouble at all. In fact, I'd rather you keep it."

The brunet stared at her with awe. "No, I couldn't-!"

"I insist!" she responded, "Consider it an early birthday present from me."

Miwa returned to the table after he had finished up. He had heard the entire conversation as he was cleaning. "You know, I never heard either of you mention what that book is. Is it really that good?"

Tsukiko giggled. "You're that curious, Taishi? Why, it is the story of the Cloudlands."

"Story of the Cloudlands?"

The blonde haired woman gestured for her son to sit. "You remember it, don't you Taishi? I would always tell you that story every night since you were a child."

"I remember it," the teen replied, "And you gave it to Kai?"

Another chuckle escaped from the older woman's ruby lips. "For old time's sake, why don't I tell you both the story again? Don't worry; I have the entire thing memorized." And once she was sure that they were all comfortable, she began to tell the tale.

"Long, long ago, there was a race simply known as the winged people. They were a majestic and proud race, able to use magic to help all the living creatures on Earth. They roamed the skies with their beautiful wings, being able to move freely to wherever they pleased. They were admired by many creatures and in turn, the winged people loved them. Whether human or animal, the winged people made it their duty to protect everyone. And with the winged people among them, Earth was always safe.

"However, this happiness was not meant to last forever. An eerie darkness appeared before the world, shrouding the skies with fear and terror. No one knew how it came to be and why it had appeared. But it was apparent that the darkness had one goal; to create chaos and anarchy, to take away the love and peace that everyone shared and turn it into hatred and paranoia, to lead the entire world towards destruction and consume it until it becomes complete nothingness. It was a being simply known… as the Void.

"As Earth's guardians, the winged people refused to let this monster have its way. They did everything they could to stop it in its tracks. Unfortunately, even with all their combined strength, the Void could not be destroyed. It was a divine being that would continue its path until its objective was complete. If it couldn't be destroyed, they only had one other option in hand, and though dangerous, they had to take this chance.

"To protect Earth from the Void, the six leaders of the winged people stepped forward; the Red Wings of Valour, the Aqua Wings of Honour, the Green Wings of Justice, the Gold Wings of Benevolence, the Silver Wings of Wisdom, and the Black Wings of Mercy. They poured all of their power into creating a world for the Void to roam so as not to harm the creatures of Earth again. There was a catch, however; the rest of the winged people would have to stay in that world to keep the Void from escaping.

"And so, the winged people said goodbye to the beings on Earth and continued to live the rest of their lives in the new world they created, a world they named 'the Cloudlands'. Cherishing their leaders' memory, they split up into different clans based on the colour of their wings and to this day protect themselves for whatever the Void would throw their way. Although they have a new home which many could consider an equivalent to Heaven itself, they are forced to live eternity in fear of that terrifying darkness."

The two boys had been silent during the entire story, letting everything sink in. No words could describe what they were feeling. Tsukiko let out a sigh as she stood up and walked over to the closest window, staring at the night sky that surrounded everything. "It is a bittersweet tale," she continued, "The winged people sacrificed everything to keep their beloved home safe but at what cost? As time went by, their sacrifice was forgotten by the creatures of the Earth and to this day, they still fight to keep everyone safe. But how long can this go on? Will they one day find the power that can destroy the Void once and for all? Or will they give in to despair and result with the Void turning everything into eternal nothingness?"

An unsettling silence flooded the room. No one moved an inch, as if time had stood still. It wasn't long though until Tsukiko looked back at the boys, flashing her signature grin. "Anyways, it's getting pretty late. You should stay the night, Toshiki!"

With the atmosphere now back to the way it was, Kai stood up. "No thanks," he muttered, walking away from the table and into the hall. Miwa and Tsukiko followed behind him as they watched him put on his shoes.

"You sure you don't want me to walk you home, buddy?" Miwa asked, his voice showing a little concern.

"I'm not a girl," was Kai's reply. Nothing more was said as he walked out the door. The moment the brunet left, Tsukiko's smile faded into a deep frown. Her blue eyes showed concern as she stared at the spot the teen was standing before. She sighed.

"Sometimes I worry about him," she honestly expressed aloud; "Toshiki was always such a sweet and caring boy in the past." She looked over at her son beside her. "You two were always so close too, as if you were real brothers. But… since that day…"

Miwa placed his hands on his mother's shoulders, comforting her. "You don't need to worry, Mom," he assured her with a smile, "He's pretty strong. I'm sure he can handle himself."

The blonde haired woman gave a curt nod before she left for the living room. Miwa sighed. He said those words to convince his mother that things were going to be alright, but he felt like he was saying that to also convince himself. Yeah, Kai was strong, but the blond knew that his friend was also very fragile, like the tiniest thing could cause him to crack. That day still haunted his mind to this very day; the day when his once brash and overconfident best friend became a hollow shell of himself, a boy so emotionally unstable that he was unable to control his actions. Miwa could still remember hiding in fear as his mother tried to calm down an aggressive Kai. The brunet, who would always give his cheekiest grin no matter what happened, was wailing loudly; his face soaked with tears. He was punching and screaming, showing so much pain and distress-!

Miwa shook his head. He didn't want to remember any more of that painful memory. After many struggling attempts and using a last resort, they were able to free Kai from his despair, but at a cost. There was nothing left of the old Kai, and the one before them now was an emotionless doll that shared his face, that moved and talked just like that of a normal person. He had no goals, no dreams to strive for. He was simply only living until the day he dies. What Miwa wouldn't give if it meant he could get his old friend back.

XxXxX

Kai walked the dark streets alone, feeling the chilling wind of the night brush against him. The streetlamps lined up against the path were the only source of light to guide him home. Every now and then, there would be a stray car driving past him, but he felt no need to heed them. He only wanted to get home.

He eventually made it back to the tall building that was his apartment. He opened the door and stepped inside. It was a simple one room apartment with all the necessities he would need to live on his own, including a bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom being its separate thing. He didn't need to worry about rent or groceries since Tsukiko had offered to pay for him. While Kai himself didn't mind having to pay for all his stuff, he knew the blonde woman wanted him to focus on school and living life as a normal teenager.

He didn't bother to turn on the light, for he just didn't care. It was no trouble though, for the moon that illuminated through the back window provided enough light to help him get around. He walked down the front hall after taking his shoes off and went straight to the bed. He let out a sigh as he dropped onto the mattress, relaxing his entire body from any stress. This was his own private sanctuary where no one could bother him; blanketed by the darkness as he relaxed his entire body. Nothing within these walls could cause him grief. And yet…

A familiar object on the bedside table caught his eye. It was that book; the one that Tsukiko gave him. He picked it up, feeling the texture of tree bark that served as the book's cover. It looked more like a spell book from fairy tales rather than a novel. He opened the book and began to skim through the pages. The story was told almost the same way Tsukiko did, but went into more detail during certain aspects.

One thing was for certain; Kai now remembered what the trigger for his reoccurring dreams was.

But how could one book result in him having these dreams that were depriving him of needed sleep? Winged people living in a magical world said to be an equivalent to Heaven; it's only fantasy. It was just a fictional story to entertain the mind with make believe. There was no way the winged people could exist.

He put the book down back onto the table. A yawn escaped his lips as he felt himself beginning to drowse off. Too tired to change into his pajamas, he adjusted himself so he was lying down on the decently comfortable mattress and pulled the duvet out from under him so he could go under it, protecting him from the cold night air.

'Another ordinary day has passed,' he said to himself in his mind. And slowly, he started to fall asleep. But one question sticked to his mind; would he have the same dream tonight? Until his consciousness faded for the night, he repeated the same sentence over and over.

'Winged people don't exist.'


	3. Chapter 2: Cloudlands

It was another beautiful day as the bright, golden sun appeared once again above Sunrise Valley; one of the different lands within the Cloudlands. The grass that covered the entire valley glittered from the sweet morning dew sprinkled on top of it. A melodious tune sung by rainbow birds could be heard as they flew above the clouds; the rays from their glowing bodies forming a rainbow in the sky. The many different creatures that lived in this valley had begun to awaken once again, and roamed to many areas, living their daily lives.

Somewhere within Sunrise Valley, there was a kingdom with walls made of white and blue marble and a friendly aura surrounding it. The people there roamed the streets filled with joy and laughter. But what made them stand out the most were their radiant golden wings that glowed like the warm sun itself.

This was the kingdom of the Gold Winged Clan.

At the back of the kingdom was a beautiful white and blue palace that sparkled under the sun's rays. Within the palace walls was just as peaceful if not more so than on the streets. The servants hummed cheery tunes as they did their daily chores. The knights in their azure armour stood at their posts, beaming with confidence. All of the rooms were neat and clean and shined with such radiance. It was another heavenly day for the kingdom.

But peace usually follows up with chaos.

As everyone in the palace was off minding their own business, three young knights marched through the halls in a straight line. Considering their age, you would not believe these three to be knights, but don't let their appearances fool you. Their skills in combat were truly something that shouldn't be reckoned with.

They continued marching down the hall until the one in front noticed the door that marked their destination. He halted rapidly, causing the two behind him to bump into him and all three went tumbling down. The first knight, who was most likely the leader of the three, let out his frustration at the other two as he yelled at them to get off him, to which they complied. They knew that their leader was not someone to deal with if angered.

With all three back up on their feet, the leader of the three, who had already calmed himself a bit, cleared his throat and began to speak. "Boys, we have taken on a very difficult task. Normally, we wouldn't even consider taking this task, as it is not in our calamity."

"I think you mean 'calibre'," one of the other two spoke up.

"Yep, definitely calibre," replied the other one.

The leader's face turned red with embarrassment. "W-Whatever!" He turned towards the door. "We usually wouldn't accept something like this, but what lurks behind these doors is what's causing the princess distress. And for the princess, I will do anything to help her be at ease once again! Even if I lose my sorority in the process!"

"You mean 'sanity'!" the first boy corrected him again.

"Yeah! I don't even think we can have a sorority!" said the other boy.

He decided to ignore them this time. "You two brought the weapons needed for this quest?"

The two nodded. "We sure did! It wasn't easy to get them though. They were well guarded."

"Great job, guys!" The leader stood with confidence. "Let's go!"

With all said and done, the three made their way through the door in front of them. They found themselves in a grand bedroom. The walls and ceiling were white and the floor was blue, just like the rest of the palace, but made up for it with some gold lined up against the walls. The morning light shined through the giant open windows bordered by blue curtains with golden lines making a design near the edges. In the back of the room was a queen sized bed with a blue duvet with white pillows and a gold canopy hanging above it. There was a lump hiding under the duvet; most likely someone still sleeping.

Nodding at each other, the three knights made their way to the bed. Once they made their way to the side of the bed where the lump was occupied, they pulled out their weapons for this task; pots with big, wooden spoons. They took their positions.

"Ready, boys?" the leader whispered, "Now!"

"WAKE UP!" all three yelled in unison, banging their cooking utensils together. They tried to make as much noise as they could, trying to wake up the bundle in the bed. But to their surprise, it wouldn't even move an inch.

"Come on!" the leader of the three cried in frustration, "It's not everyday you get a wake up call by the Great Kamui!"

Before he could even process what happened, the pot and wooden spoon were taken from the leader, Kamui's, hands. The spiky haired knight stopped what he was doing and turned around to see the one responsible for stopping him.

"The 'Great Kamui' should come up with a different wake up call that doesn't cause a ruckus within the entire palace!" the room's new guest responded.

The other two knights stopped what they were doing as well as their attention moved to the conversation between Kamui and the newcomer. They could tell they were in so much trouble, as the person in front of them was no other but the Gold Winged Clan's royal advisor, Shingo. All three knew from experience that he was someone that does not take things lightly and that he would scold anyone who disrupts the peace and order within the palace as well as the serenity within the royal family.

"Why are you three here anyways?" the royal advisor continued, adjusting his glasses, "Don't you realize that this is His Highness, the Prince's royal chambers? And isn't it the maids' job to do wake up calls?"

Kamui scratched his head. "You're right, sir!" he replied, "It's just, um… well, you see... uh…" He was too nervous to try to explain. It didn't help with Shingo glaring at him, building more pressure on him. "Reiji, Eiji! Help me out here, guys!" The other two knights, Reiji and Eiji, mentally sighed as they began to explain.

"You see, sir," Reiji began, "It started when Kamui was making his rounds at his station."

"Yeah! Working very hard to protect the kingdom he cherishes!" Eiji added.

"But then, he saw the princess in trouble!"

"Very big trouble!"

"Wait a minute!" Shingo interrupted, "Something has happened to the princess?"

All three boys shook their head. "She's fine!" said Kamui, "They meant that she wasn't her usual cherry self."

"Cheery!" Reiji and Eiji both corrected him.

The advisor nodded, getting a good understanding of the story so far. "Continue."

The two boys nodded. "So then Kamui goes up to her and asks what's wrong."

"And then the princess replies; 'My brother has not gotten out of bed. The maids have already tried to wake him up, but he hasn't come out and it's already been two hours'."

"Kamui could see that the princess was distressed by this and said; 'Don't worry! I'll handle this!'"

"Yep! And then all three of us gathered here to wake him up and then you showed up and it led to this very moment!"

With their explanation fully explained, all three boys let out a relieved sigh. Shingo looked over at the lump under the duvet with curiosity. It was strange indeed that their prince had not woken up yet after the maids made their rounds. He walked over to the bed.

"Your Highness?" he spoke up, "Are you not feeling well?" The lump did not move or make a sound. Now they all felt concerned. What could be going on with their prince? Shingo tried again, this time pulling the duvet open, and all eyes widened at the sight in front of them.

Under the duvet were a few extra pillows. There was no prince.

"Hey, I'm better than I thought," Kamui let out a laugh, "My wake up calls are so awesome, the prince woke up before I showed up!" But he was only trying to appear confident. Deep down, he was terrified of the sight in front of him. All of them were. Because one fact became apparent to them.

Their prince was missing.

Their prince was missing!

THEIR PRINCE WAS MISSING!

"N-Now, now! C-Calm down!" Shingo tried to assure the young knights, though was having a hard time calming himself down, "Let's not jump to any conclusions! I-I'm sure His Highness is just off doing his own thing within the palace and no one has managed to bump into him yet. So, to make sure that the prince is safe and sound within the palace walls, we shall look around for him."

"Y-Yeah!" Kamui replied, also trying to remain calm, "W-We can't assume he's missing yet! We'll see if we can find him!"

With all said, they split up to search everywhere within the palace. They considered all the places the prince would usually spend time at and started searching there. If not there, they searched any other room in the palace. They were determined to not leave a single place unchecked until they found him.

Shingo found himself in the courtyard. It was a lovely looking place to relax outside with lots of trees and flowerbeds of different colours, white benches with pretty designs, and a stone fountain with a statue of a cupid in the middle. And while he didn't find the prince, he found something else that got him rather irritated.

On one of the flower beds was a sleeping knight. He was not just any knight though, for the royal advisor knew the trouble this knight liked to cause. Just looking at this knight disgusted Shingo; his sluggish body, his fiery auburn hair, his carefree expressions. Adjusting his glasses, the advisor stormed over to the sleeping knight and began to shake him awake.

Awakened by the disturbance, the lazy knight sat up, letting out a big yawn. He let out an agitated murmur before noticing Shingo there. He groaned. "What the hell, Shingo? I was really enjoying my nap."

Shingo crossed his arms. "That's 'Mr. Royal Advisor' to you! And why are you napping on the flowerbeds when there are benches around? Wait a minute, no! Why are you even napping in the first place? Aren't you supposed to be on lookout?"

The knight slowly stood up, still feeling a little groggy. "Hey, can you blame me for wanting to take a nap when there's nothing interesting going on? And for your information, I don't like to sleep on the benches because it gets my wings all stiff!"

The royal advisor sighed. "And you are supposed to serve as a knight for the kingdom of the Gold Winged Clan. Honestly, if you are going to fall asleep during guard duty, then you can't be considered reliable for any task. Not to mention the serious damage to the flowerbeds!" To prove his point, he gestured to the now slightly flattened flowerbed the knight had been sleeping on. "Seriously, Naoki! What would happen if you were asleep on guard duty and an enemy came and kidnapped someone from the royal family-OH NO!"

The auburn haired knight, Naoki, gave a confused look as he saw the advisor begin to panic. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Shingo glared at him. "Ooh, I knew it! You truly are unreliable as a knight, you blockhead!"

That got Naoki pissed. "Instead of making judgements on my reliability, how about you tell me what the hell is going on before I deck you in the head, pipsqueak!"

"How dare you talk to me like that! Have you forgotten who I am?!"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I give a shit! You're not the boss of me!"

"I may not have as much power as the royal family but I happen to be a very important asset in keeping peace around here, so yes, technically, I _am_ the boss of you!"

"Hey, guess what? Even if you _are_ a bigger power than me, that doesn't mean I'm gonna listen to any of the bullshit you sprout at me!"

Naoki and Shingo were butting heads, continuously throwing insults at each other. It was considered the norm for these two to constantly bicker at each other, for they had been at each other's throats ever since the day they met. This went on for a while before a flash of three gold wings soared towards them. Kamui, Reiji, and Eiji had finished their search and made their way to reach Shingo. The advisor ended his argument with the auburn haired knight and focused on the three younger knights.

"Status report!"

Kamui shook his head. "We can't find him anywhere."

"We've searched everywhere!" said Reiji.

"Yeah, even in the places he would most unlikely be," Eiji added.

This did not settle well with Shingo. He began to tremble in fear of what would happen if this got out, struggling to keep his legs from giving out and fall to the ground. Naoki looked at them confused. "Who are you searching for?" he asked, "Maybe I can be of some help."

It didn't look like the advisor would be able to explain the situation himself, for he was too shaken up by the whole ideal, so Kamui decided to explain. He told the older knight everything; how they heard that the prince would not wake up from his slumber, the discovery they made when they came to check up on him, and their search for him within the palace. Naoki appeared calm, but deep down he was a little terrified himself. He knew what would happen to them if something happened to the prince.

"Maybe he went out flying," he suggested, "After all, the prince does love to soar through the skies and there's only so much you can do around here."

Shingo broke out of his shaken state and glared at Naoki. "If he wanted to do that, then he would've asked for an escort to come along with him. And I have no knowledge of any escorts assigned."

"You know the prince; he doesn't like to trouble people."

"So you're saying he could be gliding about out there by himself, making himself an easy target for danger?!"

"Well, what do you suppose happened to him?! I don't know of anyone who would want to kidnap him!"

"Well, no matter what has happened to him, I hold you responsible!"

"What?! How am I responsible?!

"Who was the one sleeping on guard duty while all of this was happening? You had left an opening for getting in and out of the palace!"

"Well, sorry! How was I supposed to know something like this was gonna happen?!"

"Of course you should've known this would happen! It's your job! You think knights are all about getting into fights and looking cool?!"

"KNOCK IT OFF!"

Naoki and Shingo stopped their argument to the sound of Kamui's loud voice. They sighed. This was not the time. They needed to go out and find the prince to make sure he was alright. Kamui began to pace.

"There's no way we can let the queen or the princess find out about this," he began, "If we gather too many people to help us find him, they'll definitely find out. We should get the captain to help us out at least-!"

Naoki grabbed the collar of the younger knight's armour to stop him from pacing. "Whoa, bad idea! Having the captain find out is just as bad as having the queen or princess find out. Do you know how much shit we'll be in for this?"

"And whose fault is that?" Shingo muttered.

The auburn haired knight gave the advisor a glare before continuing. "This has to be kept secret between the five of us. We absolutely can't have anyone find out that the prince is missing!"

"You can't have anyone find out _who_ is missing?!"

All five flinched; eyes widened, breath hitched. That voice did not come from any one of them, but they did recognize whose voice it was. And they really wish they didn't. Their heads cautiously turned to the direction where they heard the voice. It was just as they feared.

Five loud ear piercing screams rang within the entire kingdom that very moment.

XxXxX

Far away from the kingdom of the Gold Winged Clan, on the other side of Sunrise Valley, there were patches of flowers of different varieties scattered around a pond that glowed under the summer sun and a tree with a thick trunk that served as a home for many different small creatures. The Boroas, which were tiny, grey, bear like creatures with white tuffs of fur around their necks and bellies and long, fluffy, white tails, were playing tag around the tree, and the Sheaprits, which were white, woolly, rabbit like creatures with tanned sheep like faces, were hopping along their merry way across the fields.

Sitting on the opposite end of the pond was a stray baby rainbow bird. Its eyes were red from shedding so much tears and its feathers glowed blue in expression to its sadness. The poor little thing was lost and alone; unsure of what to do. It didn't even know if it would even be found.

And yet it was indeed found, but not by what it was hoping would find it.

The baby bird caught sight of something bigger than it walking towards it. It didn't clearly see what it was but it didn't matter. It was afraid to see what horrid monster would try to come near. Its feathers changed from blue to violet to express that fear and it closed its eyes; dreading for the moment its life would end.

But nothing of the sort happened. Why was that?

"Please, don't be afraid. I'm not here to hurt you."

The rainbow bird slowly opened its eyes. Standing before it was what appeared to be a winged person; one from the Gold Winged Clan obviously just by looking at the wings. The winged person walked cautiously toward the bird so as not to scare it even more than it already was and gracefully sat down in front of it. He opened his hands like a little platform for the small creature; concern clearly shown through his angelic visage. The baby bird; its feathers glowing blue once again to show its fear was gone, took the invitation and perched onto the winged boy's hands. The latter raised his hands so the bird was on eye level with him.

"Please, tell me what has gotten you so sad?" asked the boy, "I'd like to help if I can."

Knowing of absolute certainty that it could trust the winged boy, the baby rainbow bird explained everything. To the ears of anyone, the sounds it made were just ordinary chirps that any bird makes. But to this winged boy, the chirps were translated into words. The bird told him how today marked the day that it would start flying for the first time. As it tried to follow its family up into the air, as soon as it jumped out of the tree, it fell out. And so, unsure of its family even knows it's missing, the baby bird grew depressed on how it couldn't fly like the other birds.

The winged boy gave a small, gentle smile after the baby rainbow bird finished its story. The bird still in his hands, he stood up. "I'm sure you can fly if you really try," said the boy. But the bird just shook its head. "Do you know what I think it is?" The small feathered creature tilted its head to the side in confusion; its feathers changing into an indigo colour. "I think it's not a matter of you unable to fly. I think you just don't have enough confidence in yourself."

Without warning, the boy began to spread his beautiful golden wings and flew up. The bird let out a loud, frightened chirp as its feathers changed to violet yet again. The winged boy assured the small creature that he wouldn't let it fall. Upon reaching a certain height, he stopped.

"Flying is a wonderful feeling!" the boy remarked, "As you're flying, it feels like your troubles flow through you like the breeze. It's better than anything you can ever experience in your entire life. Have confidence in yourself and you can truly experience this feeling yourself."

The winged boy pulled his arms away from him slightly as he gave enough room for the bird to experience it itself. As for the small creature, its fear, while still evident, was more in awe than anything. Would it really learn the feeling of flying the way it was?

The boy chuckled. "Picture yourself like any other bird up in the sky," he continued, "You've spread your wings and you're flapping them in rhythm with your heartbeat. You go higher and higher until finally you are higher than any cloud in the sky."

As it was listening to those words, the baby bird closed its eyes and began to do exactly what the words said. The winged boy watched in amazement as he saw the bird begin to fly on its own. It opened its eyes again. It was flying! The bird chirped in joy and its feathers turned gold as it flew around the angel that helped it.

And as if on cue, a flock of rainbow birds were seen flying close by. The baby rainbow bird recognized the flock to be its family. It looked over at the winged person and gave their thanks and farewell before flying over to where its family was. The winged boy smiled as he waved goodbye.

"Have confidence in yourself and you can truly be able to experience this feeling of flying," he mused to himself in a whisper the words he told the baby rainbow bird, clutching his shirt, or at least what was under his shirt. He closed his eyes and allowed his body to push its weight towards the ground. He was diving at such a rapid pace and was about to hit the grassy plains before he flapped his golden wings once again and continued to fly.

It was difficult for him to find a moment when he could feel this free while flying. He would usually be surrounded by knights and servants that catered to his every whim and would do anything to keep him safe. While he appreciated their concern, there were just moments like this when he wanted to fly off without any worries; to feel the wind through his hair and let his heart guide him as he soared through the sky.

But it's difficult to have the time to feel that peace of mind when you are Prince Aichi of the Gold Winged Clan.

Today was another one of those days when Aichi managed to sneak off and roam Sunrise Valley; playing tag with the Boroas, following the rainbow the rainbow birds would create in the almost cloudless blue sky, glide across the sparkling rivers as he runs his hand through the gleaming water only for the droplets of water to glitter once he takes his hand out, climb the rising bubbles at Bubble Falls as they float up into the sky. His heart felt lighter than ever before doing those fun activities, like a dream he never wished to wake up from.

He continued to soar through Sunrise Valley; his heart guiding the way to whatever direction pleased it. There was no set destination or goal. He just wanted to fly. However, even he had no gone near the borders of the valley. He never even considered it.

Until now.

As he flew farther and farther, he found himself somewhere he had never flown to before. Standing before him was some kind of dark forest that made a row that reached very far beside the valley. The trees were so tall; the tops could not be seen as they were covered by some clouds. The forest felt like it was some kind of natural endless wall, preventing any unnecessary access. The only way through the forest was the one straightforward path before him. It was a mystery as to what lied beyond the wall of trees, and something within Aichi's heart told him to follow the path. Letting his curiosity get the better of him, he went into the forest.

The light behind him from outside grew smaller and smaller as he glided farther and farther through the path. It was a good thing this path only went one direction or he would be nervous about getting lost within such a big place. However, he was anxious for how much longer the forest would go on until he reached the end.

He eventually made it to the end of the path and out of the forest only to find himself in a place covered in a thick, grey fog. Normally, no one would dare to continue forward through a fog like this where you can't see where you are going. But Aichi was not going to turn back now that he had come this far.

As he was a winged person, not only did he have wings to grant him the ability to fly, but he also had magical power to use as he sees fit. Each clan was specialized with certain types of magic, and fortunately for Aichi, his clan specializes in light magic. With the best of his ability, he created a ball of light and used it to help guide his way. The ball of light flew forward, revealing a set of stairs a few steps away going up a steep hill. Deciding not to risk any attacks that could be made on him with this fog, Aichi lowered himself to the ground and began climbing the stairs.

He didn't know how long he was climbing for; around five, ten, maybe even twenty minutes. But the stairs continued onward. As to how much longer it would last, the winged boy was not sure. And it was harder to tell with the fog surrounding him.

As soon as he finally reached the top of the stairs, the fog had finally cleared up. But what lied beyond this point was something Aichi never saw coming.

A hill with a giant stone building on top was surrounded by fields of dead grass with a few skeleton trees scattered around. The sky that was so blue and bright back at Sunrise Valley was covered with dark grey clouds, providing very little light on this foreign wasteland. A cold breeze blew about, sending chills through the winged boy's entire body. There were no signs of any other life roaming about, whether on the ground or up in the sky.

'But maybe there's still life up on that hill,' Aichi thought to himself. With no fog in his way and knowing this was the quickest way to get there; he had begun to fly over towards the hill.

He reached the top of the hill to find himself floating in front of the entranceway of the stone walls surrounding the giant stone building. Getting a closer look at it, it didn't look just like any ordinary stone building. This was a castle, or at least ruins of one. There were some parts of it that looked well destroyed and judging by some of the moss and dust on the walls; it was certain this place had been uninhabited for a long time. It would be a lie to say that Aichi wasn't frightened by this place, but his curiosity was much stronger. And so, landing back down onto the ground, he walked towards the big, old, rusty doors and went inside.

He found himself at the front courtyard, or at least what was left of it. There was no sign of any plant life; no trees, no flowers; the ground didn't even have a single trace of grass. The only thing there was a fountain standing in the middle of the courtyard with a broken statue of what Aichi assumed was once a dragon and no water coming out. It was not devoid of water however, but Aichi felt a tinge of sorrow as he saw there was thick, red liquid mixed in.

Even so, the young prince could not find it in himself to halt and turn back. He was determined to venture farther within the castle walls and find out as much as he could about what happened here. He walked forward and climbed up the stairs that led to within the castle.

The castle interior was in far more ruin than outside. Rubble was scattered across the floor and some parts of the roof caved in, making it hard to tread through on foot and even blocking some paths. The entire place was flooded in darkness, even with some of the holes on the roof. The air was consumed with an awful stench of blood and rotten corpses. Conjuring up another ball of light, Aichi continued moving forward, treading carefully so he wouldn't get himself hurt.

Like outside, the inside was also covered in dust but in worse condition. The rooms were almost unbreathable with how much dust and cobwebs there were covering everything. But that was not all. Parts of the floors were not only covered in rubble but also in some sort of grey powder; ash.

Getting a better look at the entire place, it did seem like a lot of things were burnt. Anything that looked like they escaped the flames weren't without black markings; no doubt scorch marks. The worst part was that there weren't signs of any survivors. Even if anyone did manage to survive, they would've fled by now. One question still remained though.

What was responsible for this?

Bright, vivid colours caught Aichi's attention as he turned towards a woven tapestry on the wall beside him. Or at least what was left of the tapestry, for it seemed the bottom half had been scorched in flames like everything else had within these castle ruins. It was not hard to decipher the work of art though, for what was left of the tapestry showed the heads of two red dragons breathing fire. Whoever lived in this castle must've had an infatuation with dragons.

Dragons… dragons… dragons!

Aichi subconsciously clenched his shirt, holding the item hiding underneath. This had to be it! It had to be! He couldn't think of any other with such an obsession over dragons. Yes, this place was definitely-!

A monstrous growl broke the young prince out of his thoughts. He rapidly turned towards the direction of the sound, only to be greeted by a pair of big, glowing golden eyes. The winged boy could feel his heart crazily pounding within his chest and cautiously took some steps back. But with each little step backward, the source of the horrifying sound would take a step forward. Eventually, it was within the glow of the ball of light and was now easily identifiable.

Standing before him was a red dragon.

Aichi stopped moving; his entire body petrified in fear, the air around him so intense it was difficult for him to breathe. But despite the dragon's intimidating appearance, surely it wouldn't dare to harm him. Dragons were well known to be very loyal creatures. If one truly dared to attack him, it would be a serious matter.

And sure enough, the dragon took a deep breath and prepared for the attack. Once it breathed as much air in, it let it all out while releasing a fury of flames. Aichi managed to jump out of the way and glide to another area he could reach. He needed to find something around here to help defend himself. He scanned around the ruin, looking for something. He then saw something shine in the distance. Maybe whatever was there could help him. He took another leap and glided over to the source of the shine. The dragon let out another breath of flames, scorching everything in its path yet missing the gold winged boy.

Managing to make it across safely, Aichi reached out for the source of the shine and pulled out a sword from under some rubble. He was very lucky. This would be enough to help him. The dragon turned towards the winged boy and let out another angry growl.

He still couldn't understand; why was this dragon attacking him? There had never been a single creature, let alone a dragon, that would actually dare attack a winged person; the very being that created them and their world. So what was this dragon's purpose for doing so?

Suddenly, a strange feeling took over. Aichi's cerulean eyes began to glow as he experienced something he had never seen before. He could clearly see the dragon before, but now there was this dark aura surrounding it. What was this aura? Did it have something to do with the dragon's unusual behaviour?

He snapped out of his thoughts as he noticed the dragon coming in for another attack. He blinked, causing his eyes to stop glowing and he could no longer see the dark aura surrounding the giant creature. He dodged the next attack and hid behind a wall.

Aichi looked at the sword in his hands. In a situation like this, one would consider going straight for the dragon and killing it, thus making the chances of their escape extremely high. But not Aichi. He refused to kill for selfish reasons. He wouldn't even dare to spill the blood of another with his own sword unless it was to protect anyone other than himself. He held the grip of the sword as tightly as possible. He was going to have to make a break for it and hope that he could outfly the dragon until he made it back to the forest.

He waited until the dragon tried to make another attack. And luck continued to be in Aichi's favour as the dragon went in for the next attack, determined that its flames would succeed in hitting the winged boy. The young prince dodged the attack once again by leaping up into the air and flew past the dragon. He then began to pick up speed; not wasting a single moment and provide opportunity for the dragon to catch up.

He flew as fast as he could until he finally made it back to the entrance. He slammed the doors shut and for extra measure, used his magic to help barricade the door. He knew it wouldn't be enough to stop it and the magic itself would fade over time, but hopefully it should buy him enough time to get as far away as possible. As soon as he was sure his magic was secured on the door, he continued to fly off away from the hill and back into the deserted fields.

But his expectations failed him, for rather than going through the door, the dragon broke through one of the stain glass windows and used that to break free from within the castle. Aichi wasn't even that far away from the hill yet, and with the dragon's size and how big its wings were compared to its body, it wouldn't have much trouble to catch up with the winged boy.

That was not even the worst part. Aichi could tell just by looking at it that the dragon was furious, and many winged people knew from books what happens when you anger a red dragon to its limits. One by one, the dragon's scales set themselves on fire. It grew and grew until the creature's entire body was consumed in crimson flames. And at this point, it would be impossible to use a weapon against it, for the flames surrounding its body would easily burn anything into ash. And while magic could cause some damage, light magic was very rarely used for attacks and even then it wouldn't be strong enough to defeat it.

Making haste, Aichi dashed towards the direction of the forest. He had to get there before the dragon gets him. But the dragon was not going to make it so easy. It managed to catch up to him in no time flat. The winged boy began taking other directions; swerving, twisting, zigzagging, looping, even simple turns, he did anything possible to try to get the giant creature off his tail. But the dragon was not going to give up. While Aichi was finding it hard to get the dragon to stop following him, there was no way it would be able to get closer enough to catch him. Not even breathing fire was enough to catch him.

This frustrated the dragon. It refused to take any more of this. Aichi looked behind him as he continued to fly away, eyes widened in terror as he saw what the creature was doing. The dark aura that surrounded it had appeared once again, only this time it was also visible to the naked eye. The aura grew and grew when suddenly, dark blasts fired forward past the winged boy. Aichi looked in front of him once again and observed where the blasts hit. They hit the ground they were coming towards. It wouldn't seem like a big deal since it missed Aichi and would normally be considered a terrible shot.

But the dragon fired those blasts there intentionally.

Where those blasts hit, long vine like plants rose from the ground. Aichi tried to dodge them but the plants animatedly reached out to restrain him. They grabbed both his arms and legs and pulled him towards the ground. He tried to break free but they were just too strong. No matter how much he struggled, gold wings flapping in desperation, he couldn't tear the natural binds that held him down. The plants tightened their grip, causing Aichi to wince at the pain; the sword he held in his grip to fall out of his hands and on the ground below him. He let out an agonizing cry almost loud enough to be an ear piercing scream.

The dragon appeared before him; its face expressing satisfaction of capturing its prey. No way to run, no way to fly, no way to escape; the dragon had got the winged boy where it wanted him. Aichi could only watch as the beast charged up for one last attack. He couldn't give up. He needed to free himself from this hellish nightmare.

And what happened next caught both the dragon and the prince off guard.

Two blasts of light flew over Aichi's head and hit the dragon directly at the eyes. The creature roared in pain as it was temporarily blinded. But where did those blasts of light come from? If that was light magic then that meant…!

Swooping down from overhead was a familiar face with gold wings like him. A womanly figure dressed in azure one piece armour, a long, white skirt with a big slit on the side, and matching azure boots and wrist guards. Lilac hair flowed against the heavy winds around them.

Aichi let out a relieved cry, his eyes stinging as he could feel tears welling up. "Misaki!"

The person in question didn't waste any time as she saw her prince being held down by the abnormal plants. She pulled out a knife and began to cut the vine holding down his right arm. She knew they didn't have much time left until the dragon would get its sight back so she had to do this much at least. Once his right arm was freed, Misaki gave Aichi the knife.

"You should be able to cut yourself free now. I'm going to distract the dragon while you escape," she instructed, "Head back through the forest! Some of the other knights will be waiting at the entrance back at Sunrise Valley. They'll escort you back to the palace."

But Aichi shook his head. "No! I can't leave you here! It's too powerful! You'll get killed!"

Misaki gave him a gentle smile. "I don't mind risking my life if that means you'll be safe, Your Highness. That is the job of a knight after all. Besides, I think you underestimate my abilities."

There was no time left. The dragon was already starting to recover. The lilac haired girl turned towards it and pulled her main weapon of choice out from behind; a lance almost as tall as her. She floated there; taunting the beast to follow her. The dragon let out a huff, smoke coming out of its nostrils. It could deal with the boy later. Right now, it was far more angered with the girl.

Misaki led the dragon away from Aichi and off towards the distance. She was determined to protect her prince, even if she had to risk her life while doing so.

That was her job as the captain of the Gold Winged Clan's knights.

Soaring as fast as she could, Misaki led the dragon farther and farther away from the forest and castle, trying to avoid the beast's attack while scanning the ground. She had a very special ability that earned her her title of captain; she could easily memorize her opponents' skills and weaknesses and create her strategy accordingly. And fortunately for her, she had read up on the weaknesses of red dragons. Then again, the weakness was so simple, anyone could memorize it.

Even the most powerful of flames that surrounded the dragon's body can be put out with water.

But the plan was risky. With a place as dead as this, it would be difficult for any bodies of water to exist without being dried out, especially one big enough to put out the dragon's entire body. She had to take that chance though.

Neither did Misaki nor the dragon know that Aichi was trailing behind them, making sure he wasn't spotted. After he managed to cut through the plants' grasp, he began to worry for the lilac haired girl. It was not that he didn't trust her, far from it. Out of all the knights of the Gold Winged Clan, Misaki was one of the strongest, smartest, and most determined knights he knew. But before being both a loyal knight and captain, she was Aichi's most precious friend. The very thought of her losing her life to protect him left a deep, sharp pain in his chest, as if a blade struck through his heart. He refused to let that happen. Grabbing the sword he dropped, he followed in the direction they went.

After flying a long way, Misaki had finally found what she was looking for. On the ground below them was a pond. Some of the water had already dried up, but there was still enough to put out the dragon's flames. Lowering herself so she is close enough to the pond, she began to throw more blasts of light into the water, hoping the dragon gets soaked. However, the dragon realized what the knight was doing and so made sure that only its wings would get soaked. As long as the rest of the body was dry, it could not be fatally harmed. She refused to give up. Once she flew past the edge of the pond, she tried flying over the dragon and attempted her plan again.

But the beast was not going to allow that. The dragon moved on upwards, blocking the girl's path, and used the force of its wings to knock her back. She crashed into a nearby skeleton tree.

Misaki knew she had to come up with another plan. Since she soaked the wings, she could probably stab one of them with her lance to stop it from flying. While red dragons are fast in the air, they are pretty slow on the ground. So if she prevents it from flying; that would make soaking it so much easier. But was it worth the risk of getting hit by the rest of the body still covered in flames? As the dragon planned another attack, she knew she had to take this chance. As soon as it attacked, she leaped up and with her lance ready, she charged down at the wings.

Her attack hit, causing the dragon to roar in pain once again. But the creature was not going to take this lightly. Though it couldn't fly with the lance piercing through, its wings could still move, and thus used this as an advantage for a counterattack. The wing knocked Misaki back, causing her to crash to the ground.

The dragon was satisfied with its counterattack. It had to finish her off quickly before she could get up and attack once again. Just as it was ready for another attack, a big, bright light from above caught its attention. Misaki, who was still recovering a bit from that attack, noticed the light as well and couldn't believe her eyes.

While the fight between Misaki and the dragon had been going on, Aichi had been charging up enough energy to create a big ball of light. Obviously this would not cause any damage on the dragon by aiming it directly at it. But that was not what the boy was going for.

Once he was sure he had put enough power into it, he pushed the ball of light towards the pond. Its impact with the pond caused all the water to splash out, and like it was supposed to, splashed some of it onto the dragon. The crimson flames that covered its body was now gone and returned to being just normal red scales. Not only that; but the force of the splash caused the dragon to flip onto its side.

Aichi readied his sword. He didn't consider this earlier because he refused to kill anything to save his own skin. But now, he wasn't just doing this for himself. He was doing this for Misaki. With no hesitation, he charged downward towards the dragon. The blade pierced through the dragon's heart; the beast letting out a cry of agony. The dark aura that had surrounded this creature appeared once again as it flew out of its host and up into the dark, grey sky.

A relieved sigh escaped through his lips as Aichi's entire body relaxed; his hands still holding onto the grip of the sword. The entire event left him exhausted. If he wanted to, he would just let his entire being collapse as he panted heavily. But something had caught his eye.

He could see that the dragon was still alive, though just barely. Aichi was surprised as he noticed that its entire behaviour had changed. Rather than being the cold, vicious monster it was before, it just laid there with a melancholic expression, feeling just as relaxed as the winged boy was.

"Thank you, little one," Aichi could hear the dragon speak in a deep yet cracked voice, "You have freed me… from being a mindless puppet to the Void."

Aichi had let go of the sword within the dragon's chest. He jumped off and knelt down, giving him better eye contact with the dying creature. "Was that what that dark aura was?" he asked, "Was that a part of the Void?"

The dragon chuckled weakly. "So you could see it. Yes, that dark aura… is a part of the Void's power. Now… that you have freed me from its grasp, my death… will allow me to atone… for the deaths of my masters."

"Why must _you_ atone for something the Void made you do?"

"Because… I made myself an easy target… for the Void to get to. I had made an opening… for the Void… to get close to my masters… and kill them… as well as… to get rid of…'the tool'…"

"What 'tool'? What are you talking about?"

The dragon didn't respond.

"Please, tell me what this tool is!" Aichi asked again, this time more desperate. But it was no use. The dragon had already passed on.

Aichi stood back up and closed the dragon's eyes. He placed his trembling hand on the side of the creature's head and began to pray, trying his best to make sure his voice did not waver.

"O sweet, gentle, and loyal creature! May you rest peacefully and suffer no more!"

Despair swelled within the winged boy's heart. Now his entire body was trembling. He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to pull himself together but it was no use. Just how much more suffering must there be? How much more blood needed to be spilt? If the Void were an actual being, would it be showing an amused smirk by now? Were the creatures it controlled simply its playthings?

Aichi could feel his anger rising. Does such a being really find amusement in toying with people's lives? The lives of the people that lived that castle, the life of that dragon, they were all taken away. And the Void was to blame. When would this nightmare end?

His thoughts were broken by the sound of footsteps coming his way. Misaki had appeared before him; an expression of concern evident on her face. Aichi gave a small yet saddened smile, relieved that she was okay, but regardless…

The winged boy didn't need to say anything, for his friend already knew what he was thinking. While she had planned on giving him hell for worrying the entire kingdom with his disappearance, she could tell just by looking at him that he had been through a lot already. She walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. They exchanged words through eye contact as the cold wind brushed against them. With no reason to stay, Misaki motioned for Aichi to follow her before she flew back up into the sky. The prince took one last look at the dragon and then trailed behind her.

When they reached the castle ruins once again, there was a question deep within Aichi's mind that he needed answered. And it was a question he knew only Misaki could help him with. Building up the courage needed, he spoke up.

"Misaki?" he asked in a soft voice, "Do you know who lived in that castle?"

The lilac haired girl looked back at the castle before looking back ahead of her. "I have no clue."

So even Misaki with her amazing memory didn't know. But though he asked, Aichi already had a good idea who lived there. He had so many questions of things he needed to know. Were the people who lived there really the ones he believes lived there? Why did the Void go through the trouble of brainwashing a red dragon to eliminate them? And what was this 'tool' the dragon spoke of? There were many other unanswered questions that flowed through his mind; ones that he had been wondering about since _that day_. But no matter who he asked, nobody would answer him.

Or it was more like they _couldn't_ answer him.

Something was definitely wrong within the Cloudlands, and as he entered back into the forest with Misaki and returned to Sunrise Valley, Aichi made a silent vow to himself that he was going to figure out what it was; clenching the item he was hiding under his shirt.


	4. Chapter 3: The Other Clans

A lot happened as soon as Aichi returned to the palace. He was greeted with cries of relief by all the servants and the knights that stayed behind while the team led by Misaki searched the entire valley for their dear prince. Aichi, feeling a little tense and uncomfortable as they pushed their concern of him towards him, could only smile the best he could and assure them that he was perfectly fine as they surrounded him in the courtyard, but it wasn't enough to calm them down.

Shingo gave an alarming clap to get everyone's attention. "Yes, yes, His Highness is safe, but please do not forget that you all have your duties to return to. Back to work, everyone!"

Afraid to feel the wrath of the royal advisor, everyone with the exceptions of Aichi, Misaki, Naoki, and Shingo himself left the courtyard and went back to do their jobs. There was only silence in the air.

It didn't last long though.

"YOUR HIGHNESS!"

The next thing Aichi knew was that Shingo was now on his knees in tears, gripping the young prince's hand. And to think that he was one of the few who kept his cool after his reappearance before this point. He was no doubt trying to keep his image in front of the other servants. Now that only a select few were here, he could let everything out.

"I'm so glad that you're safe, Your Highness!" the advisor sniffled, "I was worried that since _someone_ fell asleep during guard duty," He briefly glared at Naoki, who in turn glared at him, before returning his attention back to the prince, "That you would've been in grave danger."

Aichi chuckled sheepishly at 'grave danger'. He looked over at Misaki, who had just been standing there with her arms crossed in silence. Before they met up with the other knights, the lilac haired knight promised the prince that she would keep the fact that they were almost killed by the red dragon a secret so as to not worry the kingdom any more than necessary, provided that the latter not mention anything of the forest or what lied beyond it. It was already bad that Aichi left the palace without an escort, but if anyone were to learn that he also left the boundaries he was to stay in and went exploring in some dangerous unknown territory, no doubt he would not be allowed to leave the palace again unless for special purposes. And Misaki knew how much it would sadden the prince if he were to be rid of the freedom to fly like a bird in a cage.

And so she would do anything to keep the prince's happiness, though she also had her duty as the captain of the knights of the Gold Winged Clan. Her loyalty to one or the other would depend on Aichi's own decision. But she knew by his personality that he would never back down on his own word. As far as they knew, this was their own little secret.

Naoki growled. "Geez, Glasses Boy, how long are you gonna keep that grudge? Nothing happened; the prince is safe, so why is it such a big deal? And okay, I damaged one of the flowerbeds, but where else can I nap?"

Shingo got up and turned towards the auburn haired knight. "How much of an imbecile are you?!" he exclaimed, "I can't help but wonder how you function! Yes, His Highness is safe, but he _could_ have gotten hurt! And may I add that the money used to pay for the damage of the flowerbeds comes out of how much food you'll get on your plate every night?!"

"Okay, okay! I get it!" Naoki tried to defend himself, "I'm sorry! I'm the one to blame for what happened!"

"No!"

Both the royal advisor and the knight turned their attention to the prince. "It's not your fault, Naoki. It's mine. I made the rash decision to go off on my own and I'm the one to blame for any dangers I may have gotten myself into out there. This would've probably still happened no matter what you would've done."

"Your Highness…"

"Also, if you're really concerned on where to nap, I'm surprised you don't use the grass. There's a lot of it and it's a lot softer than it looks. I sometimes like to nap on it myself."

Naoki scratched his head. "You know, I tried that but sometimes I worry that any time the grass isn't cut yet that it may tickle my nose and-!"

"Enough of this conversation about naps!" Shingo interrupted in a shrill tone, "A knight must always be well aware of their surroundings so they can protect the royal family so they shouldn't be asleep on the job! And Your Highness, please don't encourage this idiot's lazy habits!"

Aichi gave another sheepish grin. Obviously his attempt to try to lighten the situation and make everyone feel better after everything that has happened failed.

Misaki cleared her throat, alerting all three boys that she was still there. "I hate to interrupt but Your Highness; I'm sure your mother would like to see you in the audience chamber. She must be waiting for you this very moment."

The young prince nodded. He knew it would be bad to delay meeting her any longer, not because she was a terrible person that gets angered very easily because quite the contrary; she was probably one of the nicest people that Aichi knew. But he felt like it would be rude to keep her waiting another minute. With the captain behind him, he made his way into the palace and to the audience chamber.

The audience chamber was a sight to behold. A giant room with white walls and blue floors with a long golden carpet that reached from the door to the back of the room, which had eight steps of stairs leading up to three white and gold thrones in front of big, glass windows. Azure banners with a golden unicorn hung on the walls on both sides of thrones. Aichi walked forward towards the thrones where someone was already sitting.

Sitting there in the middle throne was a beautiful woman in a long sleeved emerald gown with white lace. A golden crown embodied with diamonds and sapphires rested on long, braided teal hair. Like all the others in the Gold Winged Clan, she had beautiful golden wings, giving her a more radiant appeal. There was a strong aura of kindness around her, but there was also a strong sense of authority. As soon as they reached the thrones, Aichi and Misaki both went down on one knee and bowed before the woman, for she was the ruler of the Gold Winged Clan and Aichi's mother, Queen Shizuka.

"Hello Mother," Aichi greeted her, "You… wanted to see me?"

Shizuka rose up from her throne. Her expression upon seeing her son was a combination of relief and concern. She gave him a small, gentle melancholic smile.

"Aichi," she spoke up; her voice soothing to listen to, "I'm so glad you are alright. You don't know how worried I was when I heard from Captain Misaki that you had gone missing."

"You didn't need to worry, Mother," the young prince assured her, "I always make sure I'm careful when I'm off flying around."

"Well, even so…"

"AIIICHIII!"

Before he was able to realize who it was calling him, a pink and gold flash swooped down in front of him; another pair of cerulean hues eye to eye to his own. Floating before him was a young girl dressed in a pink and white gown and a gold tiara resting on her shoulder length golden brown hair. Her gold wings were flapping to keep her at eye level with the young prince in front of her. Aichi knew very well who she was and knew the trouble he was in now that she was here.

"Aichi, do you know how worried everyone was about you?!" the girl began to scold him; not letting the boy leave her sight as she worded her thoughts, "You can't just leave the palace like that! What if something happened to you while you were out there?! You know that despite how peaceful everything looks, the Void could attack at any moment. That's something every clan in the Cloudlands knows! And to make matters worse, you left the palace on your own and unarmed. You don't know what could happen to you out there, so you need to always carry something to defend yourself-!"

"Emi! Calm down!" Aichi tried to get his words across, "Everything's fine. I'm sorry that I had worried you."

The young girl, Emi, continued to glare at him before letting out a sigh as she lowered herself back to the ground. "Honestly! You can't keep doing this. You're supposed to be the next king, right? You need to act more responsibly!"

"Alright, Emi," Shizuka spoke up, "I think you've made your point. You can stop now."

Emi looked over at the queen. "But Mother, we can't take this lightly! Aichi needs to be reminded to take care of himself better!"

The older woman nodded. "Yes, I know. And I thank you for saying what needs to be said. However, I would like to talk to your brother alone if that is alright with you."

The younger girl lowered her head. "I understand, Mother."

With all said and done, Shizuka looked over at Misaki, who had been standing there in silence while the entire scene had been happening, and requested that she escort Emi back to her room. The captain gave a bow before leading the princess out of the audience chamber, leaving only the queen and her son alone.

Aichi felt tense. As was mentioned before, his mother was not one who would get angry very easily. In fact, he didn't even remember the last time he had ever _seen_ his mother get angry. Even so, just being alone with her was rather nerve wracking. He had felt better when Misaki was there with him, but he figured that even if Emi hadn't shown up his mother would ask the female knight to leave them to talk in private. He could feel his body trembling as he tried to avoid eye contact with the older woman, his eyes focusing on the blue marble floor glimmering under the sunlight reflecting from the windows.

Shizuka looked over at her son and smiled. "Well, Emi pretty much got the scolding out of the way." She let out a soft chuckle.

The young prince stiffened as soon as he heard his mother's voice and simply gave a slight nod. The queen could see how uncomfortable he looked in front of her. She glided down from the risen platform and walked past the young male, gesturing him to follow her. She figured that a change of scenery could help relax him as they talk.

Aichi followed Shizuka out of the audience chamber and through the halls until they reached their destination; a beautiful wide open indoor garden with a high up glass ceiling to provide light for the flora and fauna that grew within these walls. On one side of the garden was a sparkling pond with a waterfall and a river flowing towards it and a variety of different coloured water lilies. A sweet, calming scent so thick you could almost taste it wafted through the air. They crossed the bridge over the river towards the middle of the garden where a small table and four chairs stood.

"You know, Aichi," Shizuka broke the silence, "You don't know how much it makes me happy to watch as you grow within your sixteen years of life. It seems like it was only yesterday when you were just a shy, little boy; a tiny bud that found it hard to open up, especially around other people. But now, you have blossomed into a confident young man who may shrink back into his shell every now and then, but is not afraid to speak his mind and do what he believes is right. I'm very proud of you.

"However, at the same time, I worry about you. While you have grown more confident, it seems you've also grown reckless. I don't know what it is that has made you become like this and I don't wish to change you, but I'm frightened of what could happen if you keep up like this; frightened that one day you'll disappear and never come back to us. And it does not ease me knowing that there was a time when something like that almost happened to you."

Shizuka walked over to some of the pink roses with purple tips and let out a sullen sigh. "We have already lost so many people to the Void. We've had knights and innocent bystanders of different wing colour fall before the Void's power. Even… our past rulers have fallen."

Aichi could feel a lump in his throat upon the words 'Even our past rulers have fallen'. While he knew of all of the rulers she was talking about, there was one in particular she was thinking about. He lowered his head, wishing to rid those sorrowful and despairing thoughts from his mind. The queen, however, was in worst shape than him. She was trembling from her own words, trying hard to push back the tears that were determined to make their way out.

She was barely able to regain her composure when she turned back to her son. "Please tell me just one thing, Aichi; what is it that drives you like this, the thing that you are willing to risk your life for?"

The young prince looked away and began to walk around himself as he began to think. "To be honest… I don't know. But my heart is telling me something; telling me that something is wrong, that a piece of the Cloudlands is missing, an important piece that may be the key for ridding us of the Void once and for all. And because of this, there are so many questions; questions that make me wonder if things are really what they are or if they're supposed to be something else. I can't just sit by idly in a comfy palace while these questions torment me for the rest of my life. These questions can't be answered as long as I'm cooped up within these walls. I have to spread my wings and fly. I have to learn this hidden truth… no matter what."

Shizuka could only just stare at her son in awe from his words. She could see the aura of leadership radiating around him. It was the same kind of aura _he_ had when _he_ was still alive. The teal haired woman walked over to the young boy so she was beside him and smiled at him.

"Well," she began once again; "I need to get ready for the half annual clan leader meeting."

"Isn't it tomorrow?" Aichi asked.

"Yes," the queen nodded, "But we must be ready tonight if we are to make it in time, since the meeting destination is far away from here." She began to walk around. "You are sixteen years old now and you are the next in line to inherit the throne should something happen to me; why don't you accompany me to the meeting?"

The young prince stared at his mother; surprise clearly evident by his expression. "You want me to come with you?"

"You can refuse if you wish."

"No! I want to!" Aichi figured that going to this meeting might answer some of the questions he needed the answers to. Besides, he had always wanted to meet the current leaders of the other clans. He had heard many great things about them. Learning all of their accomplishments made him feel self-conscious of himself; like questioning if he had what it took to reach those same expectations. But this never bothered Aichi too much, for even if he couldn't make the same kind of accomplishments, if he could at least do this one thing and find out that 'truth' he was looking for, then that would be enough.

With everything settled, Aichi went back to his room to get ready to leave. He had to change his attire into something more appropriate since the clothes he was already wearing were covered in dirt, dust, and ash after everything that happened that day. He changed into an azure sleeveless, high collared jacket with golden linings and azure rings that rested below his shoulders and were attached to the sides of the jacket, white leggings, azure high heeled boots that reached his knees, and azure wrist guards.

Once ready, he left his room and made his way to outside the palace walls where his mother was waiting. Misaki, Kamui, Naoki, Shingo, and Emi were there as well. They were waiting for the carriage that would take them to where the clan leader meeting was taking place.

Although the winged people could fly for quite a while before they tire out, their destination was farther away than their wings could take them. Winged horses, on the other hand, could reach the meeting's location with ease. It is because of that that they needed to wait for the carriage dragged by winged horses to help them get there without any trouble.

After a while of waiting, the carriage flew in and landed in front of them. Emi gave both her mother and brother hugs and wished them a safe return. Kamui, Naoki, and Shingo bowed, wishing for the same thing. Misaki opened the carriage door and gestured for the queen and her son to step in. Once they were in, she closed the carriage door and climbed up onto her seat in front of the carriage beside the driver. The driver used the reins to give the signal for the horses to move and the carriage began to fly away, heading for the meeting.

XxXxX

The carriage flew through the entire night over the vast Sea of Clouds, and by the time the sun reached its highest peak the next day; they finally made it to their destination. Aichi looked out of the carriage to see that they were flying over a snowy mountain and a kingdom resting at the very top. The kingdom was filled with tons of market stalls under bright, colourful tents and some buildings made of grey and white brick which were clearly homes for the civilians. Standing at the back was a tall, shining palace made entirely of crystal.

This was the kingdom of the Silver Winged Clan.

The carriage made its way to the crystal palace, landing right in from of the main entrance. Misaki got out of her seat and opened the carriage door, helping Aichi and Shizuka off. Once all three were out, the carriage flew off until the time when it would be needed again. They could only watch as the carriage disappeared from sight.

"Hello, Queen Shizuka. We've been expecting you."

They turned around upon hearing the voice behind them. A tall, beautiful woman came walking towards them, clad entirely in silver which matched the colour of her wings. Her long golden hair blew gently against the breeze with every step she took. The moment she reached them, she kneeled down and bowed.

"Thank you for taking your time to come here," she continued, "I apologize if it was inconvenient for you, given how long it must've taken you to come here."

Shizuka shook her head. "Not at all," she replied with a reassuring smile, "It matters not how far I must go if my presence would help in securing our hope against the Void."

The woman stood back up, relieved by the queen's kind words. Her gaze left Shizuka and landed on Misaki; the lilac haired girl replying with a nod. She then turned her attention to Aichi, causing the prince to stiffen. He didn't know what to say, especially to a girl as pretty as her, as he was worried if anything he said would an awful first impression. So what could he do?

The queen noticed her son's nervous behaviour and began to speak on his behalf. "This is my son, Aichi," she introduced him; "He will take over as the new ruler of the Gold Winged Clan for me when the time comes."

Aichi could only stand still as the blonde woman analysed him from head to toe with her lovely emerald hues. When she was done, she crossed her arms with a scowl on her face.

"You don't really look like a prince," she remarked, "Then again, neither did many of the past rulers of the Gold Winged Clan, so I can't really judge you based on your appearance alone. Still, I can't help but be sceptical, seeing how you look as timid as a spark mouse. Is someone like you really fit to be king?"

Misaki stepped in between Aichi and the woman and gave the latter a slight glare. "I ask that you not offend my prince, Kourin. Appearances aside, he is a remarkable swordsman and has strong leadership capabilities; skills that show he has what it takes to be the future king of the Gold Winged Clan."

The young prince smiled from his friend's kind words, though couldn't help but feel guilty for having her fight his own battle. The woman, who Misaki had called 'Kourin', gave a smirk as she looked back at the boy.

"How very interesting," she mused, "This piques my curiosity. I myself am known to be the best swordsman of all of the Silver Winged Clan. I would like to compare our skills with the sword after the meeting is over. That is, if you would do me the honours, Prince Aichi." She gave a bow.

"O-Of course!" Aichi's voice cracked as he spoke in a squeak, answered with a chuckle from the blonde woman. His face turned red, completely embarrassed. They were not even there for a full ten minutes and he was already making a fool of himself.

"I look forward to it," said Kourin, "That been said, I will escort you three to the meeting room." She gestured for the three gold winged guests to come inside the crystal palace.

Aichi could not believe his eyes as soon as they stepped inside. Like the outside, the walls on the inside as well as the floor and ceiling were made entirely of crystal. The translucent walls allowed the sunlight to shine through, creating beams of multicoloured light. Despite being made of crystal and on top of a snowy mountain, it was weird how the air felt so warm. The three women were unfazed by it, however, though at the same time it was understandable. Kourin no doubt lived within these palace walls and Shizuka and Misaki had come here several times for the meetings.

They climbed up the stairs and through a few hallways before they had finally reached a pair of big doors. Kourin opened the doors and all three of the gold winged guests walked inside.

They were in a large room with a big, round table in the middle with six chairs and a chandelier up above it. There was a smaller table resting on the farthest wall filled with all kinds of different refreshments. The walls were decorated with paintings of different sceneries and banners with the Silver Winged Clan's crest. The entire room had this cosy feeling to it and made them feel welcome.

"The others should be arriving shortly," Kourin explained, "Until then, feel free to relax as you wait. My master will be joining you in a little while. Now, if you would excuse me." She gave another bow before closing the doors behind her, leaving the three alone in the meeting room.

A few minutes had passed. They continued to wait for the others to show up; the only sound to exist within the room to be their tired sighs and the sound of their shoes against the crystal floors as they walked around, whether it was pacing or to grab something from the refreshment table. Finally, the doors opened up once again.

Another woman appeared who was also beautiful but more mature looking than Kourin and had short cyan coloured hair. Like the blonde woman, this woman was also dressed in silver to match her wings. She stepped to the side as she allowed a few more guests in.

A young man with aqua wings walked in followed by two lovely twin girls. He was dressed on a royal blue robe embodied with aquamarines and pearls. By looking at him, Aichi could sense him to be a man of honour and pride. He was no doubt the leader of the Aqua Winged Clan, but mostly just by looking at his wings and the air of superiority that surrounded him.

"Please make yourselves comfortable," the cyan haired woman remarked to the newcomers before closing the doors behind her.

Shizuka, upon seeing the aqua winged guests that walked in, got up from the chair she was sitting at and walked over to the young man with a greeting. "It is good to see you again, Master Leon."

The young man, who had a hardened expression the moment he stepped in, softened his visage as he bowed before the gold winged queen. "Yes, it is a pleasure to see you too, Queen Shizuka," he replied.

The teal haired woman nodded. She looked over at her son, who was standing at a distance beside Misaki, and gestured for him to come over. Aichi was not sure how he felt about it. He had already embarrassed himself enough when they talked with Kourin. He was worried on how he would act around one of the winged clan leaders themselves. However, he didn't want to disobey his mother as he didn't want to upset her. He cautiously walked over to where his mother and the leader of the Aqua Winged Clan were standing.

"I would like you to meet my son, Aichi," she began the introductions before looking over at said person, "Aichi, this is Master Leon; the leader of the Aqua Winged Clan."

Aichi hastily gave a bow, clearly indicating his nervousness. He hoped that he didn't give a horrible impression here too. But when he looked back up, he noticed something very peculiar. The leader of the Aqua Winged Clan, Leon, was just standing there; amethyst eyes hardening once again as he appeared to be analysing him, almost like what Kourin did before but this felt different. The way he was staring at him, it felt like he wasn't just observing his outward appearance, but something within him too.

"You have a very meek appearance," he spoke up after being silent the whole time, "At first glance; people would not see you as a reliable ruler for the future."

The golden winged prince lowered his head. That was the same thing Kourin said to him when they first met. He obviously didn't look very brave or strong. He didn't even feel very confident in himself. And judging by people's initial reactions of him, they weren't confident in him either.

"However," he continued, "The wind that surrounds your heart is a strong yet gentle breeze."

Aichi only looked at him in confusion. "Wind?"

Leon nodded. "We are the winged people and flying is mostly second nature to us. We soar through the skies with dignity and protect those we care about. However as we fly, the wind constantly blows; sometimes calmly and peacefully, other times forceful and frightening. It can move you forward or it could push you back, or it could just relax and let you roam free. The wind helps lift our wings and lead us to our righteous paths. But as there is a wind that blows through our entire beings, there is a wind that blows through our hearts. Never let that wind fade away, for that wind may lead you to things you would have never expected.

The gold winged prince kept quiet during the entire speech. The whole 'wind' metaphor was truly fascinating. He never had considered it like that. It was definitely inspiring. He told his thoughts to Leon, receiving a smile from the latter for the first time. The leader of the Aqua Winged Clan was truly a remarkable man.

Not long after the doors opened up again. This time, it was opened by what looked like a young girl with long reddish brown hair, dressed in the same attire and had the same wing colour as both Kourin and the cyan haired woman. Another group of three entered the room from behind her.

A tall, handsome man who appeared older than Leon but still looked very young walked in; dressed in very unusual clothing. It appeared like he was wearing some sort of white robe but Aichi knew full well it couldn't be a regular robe. Resting on top of the white robe like outfit was a red and gold sash that wrapped over his right shoulder and below his left arm, wrapped well enough that it avoided wrapping his green wings. A crown made of gold leaves rested on dirty blond hair.

One thing was for sure; he was the leader of the Green Winged Clan.

Following behind him were a man and woman. The man was tall and well built with long black hair tied up in a ponytail. The woman was very beautiful yet had an air around her that was both gentle yet intimidating. Both were dressed in what was a combination of armour and short robes.

The girl who let them in smiled as she looked at all the guests already in the room. "The meeting will be starting very shortly," she informed everyone, "Sorry for the wait everyone! My master tends to take his time with things. He shouldn't take much longer though." Without another word, she closed the doors behind her; the guests left to themselves once again with the newcomers.

The leader of the Green Winged Clan, upon seeing both Shizuka and Leon, walked towards them with a grin and a joyous attitude. Leon simply gave a nod as a greeting while Shizuka gave a proper hello. The leader of the Green Winged Clan took the Gold Winged Clan's queen's hand and gently pressed his lips against her soft, delicate hand.

"It has been a long time, my friends," he remarked, "I always look forward to when our companionship comes together again like this again."

"It will be for nothing if we don't have anything accomplished during this meeting," Leon replied, arms crossed.

The leader of the Green Winged Clan nodded. "Yes, it is important that we rid of the enemy that is threatening our home. But I am confident that with our strength together, we can prevail against the Void and bring justice back."

"Yes, we can only hope," Shizuka agreed.

Aichi kept his distance as he watched the three leaders converse between themselves. They were all so determined to protect their clan from the Void. Then again, they would probably have not come to this meeting if they really didn't believe they could stand up against an entity they have limited knowledge about. The young prince couldn't help but smile with how they all looked like they got along, to keep peace between them and make themselves stronger.

Like with Leon, Shizuka called Aichi over again. He stepped away after talking with Leon because he felt that anything more would be between them. He felt like he would only be in the way. But he knew the reason she wanted him back over there was because she wanted him to meet the leader of the Green Winged Clan. The gold winged prince had an easier time walking over there as the leader of the green winged ruler looked like he would be easier to talk to than Leon and the aqua winged ruler himself didn't seem as scary as he looked upon actually making conversation with him. Even so, Aichi couldn't help but still be a little nervous.

"This is my son, Aichi," Shizuka introduced said boy as soon as he made it over there, "Aichi, this is Emperor Kenji of the Green Winged Clan."

The Green Winged Clan's leader looked at Aichi with a smile. "So you are the infamous possible heir to the Gold Winged Clan," he spoke, "The queen has told us so much about you. She's even told us about your sister too."

Aichi blushed. Did his mother really talk about him a lot? What did she say? Hopefully not something embarrassing. What would he do if it was? The emperor gave another laugh. "Don't worry; all the stuff she's said about you has been praise." The gold winged prince didn't know whether he was happy that it was nothing bad, or disappointed in himself for his easily readable expressions.

The emperor held out his hand. "I hope for us to be good friends," he spoke honestly.

"Y-Yes," Aichi stuttered, reaching out for the emperor's hand to shake it, "That would be nice, Mr. Emperor sir."

Once again, the green winged male laughed. "No need to be so formal. Please, call me Koutei. That's what everyone calls me."

"What?! I couldn't possibly-!"

"I insist! It's better to be friends if you are more casual with each other, right?"

Aichi could see that the leader of the Green Winged Clan seemed to be very easy going. But he didn't seem to be a bad guy. And maybe just like the young prince, the emperor looked like he wouldn't be a good ruler based on his outer appearance, but definitely had the skills to be a truly fantastic ruler.

Just then, the doors opened up once more to reveal Kourin and the other two girls standing there. They stepped out of the way as one more person stepped inside, and this was one that truly caught Aichi by surprise.

Appearing before them was a young boy clad in silver from head to toe; not just his clothes and wings, but his hair and skin were also white like snow. His golden eyes scanned everyone in the room as he walked through. Was this the ruler of the Silver Winged Clan?

And then Aichi remembered something he learned during one of his lessons. All clans usually change their rulers when the ruler currently in power cannot rule anymore. But the Silver Winged Clan was known to have a ruler who had managed to last longer than most rulers using magic he learned, preventing him to age and giving him the eternal form of a little boy. His wisdom and power was far greater than any ruler before him; something that couldn't easily just be passed on like other skills. No doubt about it that this was that same boy.

This boy was Lord Takuto, ruler of the Silver Winged Clan.

He reached for his respective seat at the table and sat down, gesturing for the other rulers in the room to do the same. Since Aichi is only there to observe, he stood behind his mother alongside Misaki. The people that came along with their rulers also did the same, and Aichi noticed that Kourin and the other two girls stood behind Takuto. Once everyone was comfortable, Takuto spoke up.

"I thank you all for coming to this meeting," he began, "Many years ago, our ancestors created the Cloudlands to protect the creatures on Earth from the dark force that is the Void. Originally, all we as the winged people were to do were to live the rest of our lives in the Cloudlands and to make sure the Void does not escape.

"However, as you have noticed things have changed. As the years go by, we have realized that the Void is also growing stronger. If this continues, its strength will be too much to take, and not only will the place we have grown to call our home will disappear, but the Void will break free back onto Earth and destroy everything there."

"I can take that to mean you have noticed its growing presence as well, Lord Takuto," said Leon, "I have noticed this through the winds that blow through my kingdom. The creatures that live on the lands have also begun to act strangely, no doubt feeling the uneasiness as well. It is troubling my people."

"Things have been acting very strangely back at home too," said Koutei, "Some creatures have tried to attack some of the farmers on the outskirts of my kingdom; some of which are known to not attack winged people."

Aichi widened his eyes upon hearing Koutei's words. Creatures that usually wouldn't attack winged people have received a change in behaviour like that? So it wasn't just the red dragon back at the castle ruins. This was happening all over the place. What was the Void planning by doing this?

"Nothing unusual has been happening in my kingdom as of late," it was Shizuka's turn to speak up, "Even so, I can't help but worry for my people."

"We are all worried," Takuto assured her, "We are fighting against an enemy we have limited knowledge of."

"But isn't there a way we can stop it?" asked Koutei.

"I know of a solution."

Everyone turned their attention to the doors. Standing there was a man dressed entirely in black with black wings. Long crimson hair flowed down his back. Behind him stood two knights; a tall man with a beard and a green hair band resting on long raven hair and a girl with navy blue hair and cold, sharp blue eyes. The crimson haired man glanced through the entire room with his cat like eyes of the same colour and flashed a sly, mischievous grin.

"My, my," he mused, "Looks like you started the meeting without me? Are you feeling prejudice since my wings aren't as bright and shiny as yours? Well, sure my wings aren't bright but they are definitely shiny, don't you think?"

Many mixed expressions stared at the new guest; some of worry, others in rage, and in Aichi's case, full of confusion. A part of him did wonder why they started the meeting without the ruler of the Black Winged Clan and now that he had appeared, the air within the room felt very tense. Was there some sort of conflict going on between the other clans and the Black Winged Clan? As Aichi stared at him, he couldn't help but have this uneasy feeling; like something felt wrong.

"So you have arrived," Takuto spoke up, his voice sounding inviting yet his face appeared a bit distrusting; his eyes locked onto the black winged ruler as if making sure the latter didn't try anything regretful, "Have you finally decided to join us for a meeting, King Ren?"

The crimson haired male, Ren, began to pace around the room. "Nah, this type of thing isn't for me," he replied in a bored manner, complete with a laugh, "Breaking out of a daily routine every half year just to go to some far away kingdom to constantly go on and on about how the Void may one day destroy the Cloudlands and blah, blah, blah. It's very tiresome."

"Then what brings you here?" Shizuka asked calmly, a part of her worrying that she may regret asking that.

Ren smirked. "I wasn't lying out of my ass, you know. I know the solution to your problem. It's very easy too. And with this solution you won't have to worry about these stupid meetings. My answer; just give up!"

"Never!" Leon stood up from his seat, slamming his fists against the table as he glared at Ren, "I would rather die in the hands of the Void protecting my clan than to just simply give up!"

"Then I have another solution. The Cloudlands were built for the sole purpose of keeping it away from Earth. Why don't you just let the Void free onto Earth?"

"That is out of the question as well!" it was Koutei's turn to speak up as he stood up, "You said so yourself that our ancestors created the Cloudlands to protect Earth. To just let the Void free onto unsuspecting victims and put our ancestors' sacrifice in vain, it… it's just not right!"

"Please Ren," Shizuka stood up this time, "Why are you suggesting all these horrible things?"

The black winged male stared at her. "Why, you ask? I'm just trying to ease the weight on your shoulders, that's all. But honestly, is the Earth really worth protecting if that means our own people must die in the process? They don't even remember we exist. They take their own lives for granted while we all suffer. So why should we protect them?"

"We don't protect for the sake of recognition," said Takuto, "We protect because we know that this is the right thing to do, even if our actions are forgotten."

"And that means you are willing to die and fade away physically, but for your entire existence to fade away and be forgotten within the mind as well," Ren began to laugh. "You are utter fools, you know that? If that is your line of thinking, perhaps it would be best if you die and be forgotten! After all, you are nothing more than a pointless existence, right?"

The next part all happened in a flash. Kourin, who grew angrier with every little thing that the crimson haired male said, finally snapped and charged at him with her sword. Before she could attack however, the tall male that came in with Ren rushed in between the two, and tightly gripped the blonde woman in a way so she couldn't move, causing her to drop her sword. As hard as she struggled, she could not break free.

Ren walked over so they were face to face and looked at her with amusement; that sly grin of his only growing bigger as he watched her squirm. He had to resist letting out a chuckle.

He turned his attention to Takuto. "I would advise that you keep your servant under control. If Tetsu had not stepped in to restrain her before she attacked me, she would've called an act of war between our two kingdoms. And we really don't want that, do we?"

Takuto's hues narrowed, his anger slowly rising. "Let her go, Ren," he growled through clenched teeth, his words sounding venomous.

Ren only appeared more amused. "My pleasure," he replied with a playful bow, "But first, I want her to answer a little question for me." He looked back at her. "Tell me; can you name all the winged clans?"

Kourin had not dropped her glare the entire time. "Why the hell would you ask something so stupid?"

"I just want to know, that's all."

The blonde woman didn't know what the sneaky bastard was planning. She looked over at Takuto. Her master gave a nod, telling her to answer. Sighing in defeat, she answered regrettably.

"The winged clans are the Aqua Wings of Honour, the Green Wings of Justice, the Gold Wings of Benevolence, the Silver Wings of Wisdom, and the Black Wings of Mercy."

"And?"

Kourin stared at the crimson haired male. "And what?"

"Is that all?" he questioned.

"What the hell are you talking about?! Of course! Those are all five winged clans! Now let me go!"

There was only silence. After a bit of time had passed, Ren's entire body began to slump as he let out a disappointed sigh. He told the tall man holding Kourin, whom he had called 'Tetsu', to let her go. Tetsu complied and loosened his grip on the blonde woman. Kourin glared at the crimson haired male one more time before walking back to where she was before. The other two girls began to surround her out of concern, making sure she was alright, with her having to assure them that she was fine.

"Honestly, I am disappointed in all of you," Ren spoke up once again, "I guess you are completely fine with forgetting." He began walking back to the door. He looked back at them one last time. "But before I forget, I want to give you something to think about when you continue on with your absurd meeting, when you go back home to your respective kingdoms, when you fall to sleep in your cosy beds. We are the winged clans that rule over the Cloudlands. There are five of us… yet why are there six chairs?" He let out another laugh.

But then, his crimson cat like eyes fell onto hues of bright, sparkling cerulean the moment his focus landed on Aichi. The blue haired male tensed up, the feeling he had while watching Ren growing stronger. He now recognized this feeling. This feeling was the same one he had when he came into contact with the red dragon. No, this feeling was much stronger.

He felt himself slowly starting to suffocate, his breathing moving rapidly. He was hyperventilating. His body grew heavy as he felt the aura surrounding the black winged ruler flow through him. He began to feel dizzy and was having a hard time staying on his feet. He felt like he could tip over any minute. He pressed his hand against his temple, hoping he could get this feeling of dizziness to go away but it did nothing.

"YOUR HIGHNESS!"

Aichi felt his entire body drop only to be caught by someone. His vision was starting to go all fuzzy but he could tell that the one who caught him was Misaki. His gaze landed back to where Ren was as the latter walked out of the room with his knights following him. The moment the doors closed and the three disappeared behind them, Aichi's consciousness slowly faded until he saw nothing but darkness.


	5. Chapter 4: Mystery

A soft groan left his lips as he began to open his cerulean hues once again. Aichi woke up in a strange snowy white bed in an unusual bedroom. Any other furniture, be it drawers or tables, were made of silver. Multicoloured lights danced from up on the crystal ceiling. The blue haired male tried to think about what happened to him.   
  
He remembered joining his mother to the meeting between all the different clan rulers. They were talking about the things that the Void was starting and began discussing the best course of action on how they could stop it. Then he remembered that one of the leaders came in late and suggested some of the worst possible choices as solutions. There were a lot of conflicts that were going on between him and the other clan leaders and then as soon as they made eye contact, the young prince passed out… but not before saying something that left a big impact on him.   
  
"We are the winged clans that rule over the Cloudlands. There are five of us… yet why are there six chairs?"   
  
Those words just confirmed something Aichi had been wondering about. For a while, everyone had been going on about the five clans of the Cloudlands, but Aichi himself felt convinced that there were six. If that was the case though, where was this sixth clan? He broke out of his thoughts as soon as he saw three familiar faces before him.   
  
"Aichi, you're alright!" Shizuka cried as she ran over towards him and hugged him. Misaki and Kourin stood at the other side of the room, not daring to break the moment between mother and son. The young prince had to keep assuring his mother that he was fine, and after around ten times she finally gave him space.   
  
His breath recovered, he looked over at the blonde woman standing in the back with her arms crossed; an expression of guilt easily read on his face. He did remember he would practice sword fighting with her, for she wanted to know his potential, but he was unsure if he could do so in his condition and didn't want to cause any more trouble, especially since he wasn't sure what time it was. Was the meeting still going on even without his mother there or did it already end? Regardless, he was worried. "Kourin, I-!"   
  
The blonde woman just raised her hand as a way of saying 'Don't say anything.' "I know what you're thinking. The meeting is still going on and there's still a while yet until it's over but you have your condition to think about. You did collapse right there and you have been sleeping for an hour already. So… I'll let you off the hook for now." She gave an aggressive look as she pointed at him. "But I'm not letting you off the hook next time and that act just there has only made me more convinced you don't have what it takes to be king. So next time we meet, you are going to have to do everything it takes to make me change my mind!"   
  
Aichi couldn't help but let out a little smile. Sure, he would have to make a promise and he would have to really impress her with his skills next time, but he couldn't help but appreciate that she was an understanding person. "Thanks Kourin. I promise I'll make it up to you."   
  
Kourin began to blush. She had assumed he would be grateful that she was being nice about it, but she didn't think he would smile like that. She didn't think someone as meek looking as him could actually hold some sort of charm to him that would draw her in like this. To stop herself from thinking of improper things, she turned her attention to Shizuka and asked if she would want to return to the meeting after seeing her son was okay. The queen was hesitant at first, worried on what could happen if she left him alone.   
  
Misaki assured the queen that she would keep watch over Aichi. That was enough to ease the queen from her anxiety and with no more words to be said, she followed Kourin out of the bedroom and off to return to the meeting, leaving Aichi and Misaki alone together in the silence.   
  
Aichi watched as Misaki moved from the place she was standing from and sat down on the side of the bed, letting out a breath of relief as her usually tense posture began to relax. There was no way she could let it show at that critical moment, but the lilac haired girl was really scared the moment she saw her prince collapse like that. What frightened her most was that she didn't know what it was that caused that. If he had suddenly died on her like that, she didn't know what she would do.   
  
The young prince frowned. No doubt from the uneasy silence and the way she sat that the whole situation had worried her. He was about to speak up when the lilac haired girl cut him off.   
  
"I know what you're about to say," she mumbled, "You were lucky that you had only fell unconscious and it was nothing life threatening. Regardless, it's my duty as captain to prevent anything from happening to the royal family at all costs."   
  
Aichi lowered his head. "You really shouldn't blame yourself, Misaki," he tried to ease her; "It was something that just… came out of nowhere. It never occurred to any of us that that would happen to me. I would like to find out why though."   
  
Silence continued to flood the air. Neither Aichi nor Misaki said anything as they both sat there on the bed. The crystal walls shimmered with all the lights shining through, creating an almost serene feeling.   
  
"It's hard not to worry about you, you know?" Misaki continued, "I mean… you surely remember the incident that happened to you ten years ago, right? Everyone in the kingdom worries that something like that could happen to you again."   
  
"Honestly I don't remember a thing about what happened," Aichi replied, his hands clenching the bed sheets as tightly as he could, "No one would even tell me either. Maybe if I did remember, I wouldn't have these confusing thoughts."   
  
The lilac haired knight finally looked over at the prince. The expression on his face showed deep frustration and held so much pain, as if he was ready to cry. There were so many questions he needed answered and yet he felt powerless and helpless. He couldn't give up though. Something in his heart refused to give up. It was just as Leon had said back there; he had to keep hold of the 'wind' in his heart and let it guide him to where he should go. Only then could he solve the mysteries in his mind. And there was one mystery he needed answered now.   
  
"Misaki," the young prince spoke up once again, "Do you remember what the ruler of the Black Winged Clan said? About there being six clans instead of five?"   
  
"Forget about it!" Aichi flinched on how harsh the lilac haired girl's voice sounded just there. She gave a stern face as they made eye contact. "King Ren has always been known to make stuff up and not take anything seriously. It's best that you disregard everything he said back there as just him doing just that."   
  
"But what if it isn't made up?" Aichi asked desperately, "What if it's true? What if there is a sixth clan? What if that sixth clan is the Red Winged Clan?"   
  
"The Red Winged Clan is a fictional clan made to bring strength to the other clans. They don't exist!"   
  
"How are you so sure they don't exist?! For all we know they could still be out there somewhere!"   
  
"YOUR HIGHNESS!"   
  
Before Aichi could even blink, Misaki was standing back up, staring straight at him with a frustrated glare. The young prince felt like shrinking deeper into the bed with how frightening that look was. This was the look that made the other knights so afraid of her; what helps her discipline anyone that doesn't follow orders. Very rarely had Aichi seen her use that look on him, and if she did, that usually meant 'discussion over'.   
  
Misaki's expression softened slightly when she noticed the petrifying fear on the prince's face. She didn't like to see him like that, but sometimes she was unsure of what to do. She felt like a mother who was having trouble raising her kid. She let out a sigh. "You must be tired after everything that happened today. You should get some more rest. I will let you know when the meeting is over and when it is time to leave.   
  
The blue haired prince didn't really want to try to fall asleep when he didn't get his answer, but given that the lilac haired girl's expression was not faltering any more, he knew it wouldn't be a good idea to push her. Not letting out another word, Aichi lied down on the bed and tried to go back to sleep. Misaki kept watch over the young prince from the other side of the room even after he began to sleep peacefully. She lowered her head as she held her left wrist close to her chest. She felt uneasy on how she couldn't help her prince; her dear friend. Sometimes it was hard overall on where her loyalty should lie; with her friendship with Aichi, or with the kingdom and its royal family whom she swore she'd protect.   
  
After a couple of hours had passed, Shizuka returned to the room. The meeting had finished. Takuto offered for them to stay a bit longer if they were worried about travelling after what happened to Aichi, but after the young prince kept assuring them he was going to be fine, it was decided that they would head back home. Once the carriage pulled up in front of them, Misaki helped Shizuka and Aichi inside before taking her seat at the front of the carriage. Giving their final farewells, the carriage flew off back to the kingdom of the Gold Winged Clan.   
  
XxXxX   
  
Aichi had been acting very strange as soon as they got back. The moment the carriage had landed and all three got off, the young prince made his way to the library and had been cooping himself in there since, only coming out when someone got him for meals or whenever he needed to go to the bathroom. He wouldn't even leave to go to bed.   
  
A couple days had passed since then. The few times they would see him out of the library, the young prince had dark bags under his eyes and his movement appeared very sluggish. It got to the point where everyone was worried on what he was doing in there. And so that night, Misaki went to check on him and possibly convince him to get some sleep.   
  
The library was quite a sight to behold. It was a tall room with lots of shelves filled with books of different categories covering the entire walls. Other bookshelves that were only half the size as the ones on the walls made pathways like a maze. Deep within the labyrinth of knowledge was a staircase that led to a second floor that wasn't as wide of the entire first floor, complete with a good view of the entire library. Misaki could see piles of different books that looked like tiny hills from the distance. She could guess one person that would have all those books pile up on the ground like that.   
  
And no doubt her guess was as good as gold.   
  
Floating near one of the bookshelves against the walls was Aichi, reading a book with a black and red cover while upside down. It was obvious he had not noticed the lilac haired girl come in, for his gaze had not left the pages within that book.   
  
Misaki crossed her arms. "Floating upside down like that is going to cause the blood to flow all the way to your head."   
  
Aichi let out a quick yelp in surprise to the voice of the new guest in the library, causing him to accidentally drop his book. Realizing the book was no longer in his hands, he swooped down rapidly like a giant bird snatching its prey and flew back up to where he was. Now that he was floating right side up, he began to feel dizzy, making it hard to keep his balance in the air yet not bad enough to cause him to fall. He slowly made his way to the second floor landing and landed onto a chair that stood near the railing. Misaki flew up there to join him, making sure he was okay.   
  
"What did I just tell you?" she scolded. She then noticed that the prince looked like he could start to doze off any moment. "And what have you been doing here all night for two days? You need to get your rest."   
  
The young prince appeared to not be listening to her, for despite his sleepy exterior he managed to continue his focus on the book he was reading. The captain of the knights only had to glance at the cover to know exactly what he was reading.   
  
Cloudland History.   
  
"Well, it's nice to see you deep in your studies," she continued, "But you really should get to bed."   
  
Aichi shook his head. "It's not that," he replied, "I've been searching through these books to confirm my suspicions and to find what it is I'm looking for."   
  
Misaki stared at him curiously. "What you are looking for?"   
  
"The truth behind the Red Winged Clan."   
  
A sigh escaped the lilac haired girl's lips. "Your Highness… We've been over this-!"   
  
"Then take a look at this!" Aichi pushed the book he was reading to the female knight's face. Misaki took the book and skimmed through the words. The paragraphs that rested within the pages contained information she had never heard of before. What was this?   
  
"That there is some of the history of the Red Winged Clan contained in this book," the young prince answered, as if he could read the other's mind, "I had to dig really hard to find it, but within that book is not only history of the Red Winged Clan, but the history of other clans as well. I've even checked; these are all legitimate."   
  
Misaki was at a loss for words. A book containing history of all the clans, including the ideally fictional Red Winged Clan? And no falsified information with the other clans. It didn't help that the book itself was clearly old with its worn pages that had darkened to a light brown from age and the ink that had written the very words inside was slowly fading. This book looked even older than any of the other history books. Surely this had to be a mistake. There weren't any other books like this so where did this book come from?   
  
Just as those questions ran through her mind, she almost didn't notice Aichi as he stood back up, making sure he no longer felt dizzy, and flew off the second landing, making his way to the door out. Misaki swooped down and made her way to the door before the young prince escaped.   
  
"Where do you think you're going?"   
  
"Even with that book, I haven't found anything I need to know about the Red Winged Clan," Aichi replied, giving off a determined air, "And no matter how much I ask, neither you nor anyone else will tell me anything. So if I want to find out what I need to know, there's only one place I have to go to."   
  
A place he had to go to? Misaki's eyes widened in realization. Before Aichi made his way past her, she halted him by grabbing his wrist. The young prince looked at her in surprise as she glared at him. "You're not going back to that castle! Surely you haven't forgotten what happened the last time!"   
  
"I haven't forgotten," Aichi assured her, "Yes, maybe going back there will be dangerous, but I'll risk it if that means I can find something there!"   
  
Her grip tightened. "I won't let you go back there!"   
  
Aichi gave her a hurtful look, wincing a bit from the slight pain the lilac haired girl was giving him on his wrist. "Why not?"   
  
"What do you mean 'Why not'?!" Misaki almost said as a shout but brought it down to normal speaking level. She did not want anyone to walk in on this conversation, remembering her promise to the prince in front of her that she would not tell anyone about that day. "You almost got killed last time! You may be willing to risk it but I'm not!"   
  
"Then come with me!" Aichi answered with a hopeful smile, "If you're there, my safety is well assured, right?"   
  
But Misaki did not look like she would budge. The glare she had on her face didn't look like it would subside for a while if this continued. She refused to let the prince go back to that castle. And even if she did, would he really find anything? It was possible that castle didn't even belong to the Red Winged Clan. No, she knew that castle didn't belong to the Red Winged Clan. Because the Red Winged Clan never existed. And the sooner it took for Aichi to realize this, the better.   
  
Aichi's hope fell as he frowned once again. He didn't think he would need to tell her, but maybe if he did she would probably see it too and help him. He let out a sigh. He began to explain that moment between him and the dragon before it died; how it was controlled by the Void and felt like it needed to atone itself for the act it caused upon its 'masters', even though it only acted through the Void's manipulation. He even explained that the Void was after something; to get rid of something the dragon called 'the tool'. Aichi figured that the 'masters' that the dragon was referring to was the Red Winged Clan and figured that if he found out what 'the tool' was, maybe it would uncover the mystery of what happened to the Red Winged Clan and why the Void tried to get rid of them.   
  
However, Misaki continued to appear unconvinced.   
  
"Aichi, everything you just said is completely impossible," she dismissed the idea, "Dragons cannot talk."   
  
"They can to me!" Aichi cried, completely offended that his friend would say that to him, "So can any other creature in the Cloudlands! And that just leads to something else I need to know; how can I hear them? And the things I see; how can I see them? So many things are going on around me and I'm just so confused. I can't keep up like this!"   
  
"Your Highness, I understand how hard it is for you but-!"   
  
"No, Misaki! You don't understand!" Aichi was now shouting in frustration, "You and everyone else think that I'm going though some sort of faze; that this is something that will just pass by eventually! But this is not a faze, Misaki! This is not something that will just vanish eventually! In fact, this is a feeling I've been feeling for almost my entire life. Everyday, everyone tells me that the Red Winged Clan isn't real. But I know they're real! I know just by this feeling I have in my heart!"   
  
Misaki was getting tired of how the young prince was talking. This imaginative way of thinking was starting to piss her off. She pulled him in closer to her so they were directly looking at each other eye to eye. "Saying you know something from your heart doesn't mean that it is true" she gave her response venomously, "To know if something is true, we must use logic. You've never even seen the Red Winged Clan aside from pictures, right? Therefore, it is impossible for them to exist so stop this idealistic way of thinking."   
  
Aichi refused to give up. "I've never seen humans either yet I know they exist! Just because you've never seen them doesn't mean that they can't be real! The Red Winged Clan really does exist!"   
  
"It does not!"   
  
"It does! I can feel it!"   
  
"Enough of this! You are clearly delusional due of lack of sleep! You are heading back to your room this instant, Your Highness!"   
  
"Misaki! Would you just listen to me?!"   
  
"BACK TO YOUR ROOM, YOUR HIGHNESS!"   
  
"PLEASE, CAN'T YOU JUST FORGET ABOUT LOGIC FOR ONE MOMENT AND THINK WITH YOUR HEART FOR ONCE LIKE YOU ACTUALLY HAVE ONE?!"   
  
That was the breaking point. Misaki's eyes widened the moment she heard those words come out of the prince's lips. Her expression clearly showed that she was both shocked and pained to hear that. Aichi's own eyes widened upon realizing what he just said. They both stood there in silence as the air around them loomed with sorrow. Feeling her eyes stinging, Misaki let go of the young prince's wrist, which would've been red and sore from how long and hard she was gripping if not for the wrist guards he was wearing, and made her way towards the door out of the library into the hallway. Aichi quickly tried to catch up to her before she disappeared.   
  
"Misaki, wait!" he cried as he managed to catch her just outside the door, "What I said just then; I didn't mean-!"   
  
"Is that really how you see me? As a heartless person?" the lilac girl asked softly. Tried as she might, she couldn't mask the hurt that wavered in her voice.   
  
Aichi shook his head. "That's not… I…" He couldn't form the words he wanted to say. His friend was in pain from the words he just spilled out by accident; why was he choking when he was trying to apologize? It hurt just looking straight into her blue eyes, showing they probably wouldn't even listen to him even if he tried. Aichi held his mouth open, showing that he did in fact want to say something, but could only keep quiet. He lowered his head, ashamed that he couldn't let out his feelings to her.   
  
"Aichi? Misaki?"   
  
Emi walked down towards them with Kamui following her from behind, their expressions showing concern for both the prince and the female knight. "I heard shouting from my bedroom and I was worried. I knew I wasn't allowed to leave my bedroom without an escort so I asked Kamui to accompany me. Did something happen?"   
  
There was only silence. Aichi could not bring himself to raise his head or at least appear like there was nothing bothering him to assure his sister he was alright. Misaki just stood there, finally able to mask her emotions with a stone cold look. She turned away.   
  
"It's nothing," she replied in a soft, almost cracked voice. She began to walk away. "I'm going to head out for a bit. Kamui, please escort both the prince and the princess back to their respective chambers."   
  
Kamui was about to question it before the captain of the knights disappeared deep within the hallway. He let out a huge sigh as he scratched his head. Emi continued to stare at Aichi, who didn't appear to be moving. She asked again on what happened, but it was to no avail. The prince just wouldn't say anything.   
  
With there being nothing left to do in the hall, Kamui decided it was best to escort the royal siblings back to their rooms, following the dim glow of all the lamps lit on the walls. Since his room was closest, they went to Aichi's room first, and once it was sure the prince was in his room, the knight escorted Emi back to hers. The princess was not sure about leaving her brother in such a state, but Kamui simply assured her that he probably needed some time alone. Though hesitant, Emi eventually agreed to return to her room with the knight, leaving the prince alone in his bedroom shrouded in darkness.   
  
His body heavy from the despair in his heart, Aichi slowly made his way to the bed and plopped face down onto it, not bothering to change out of the clothes he wore for five days nor to at least reposition himself so he felt more comfortable. His hands clenched the sheets and he pushed his head down against the bed, letting out the biggest scream he could into the mattress to muffle it out.   
  
'I'm such an idiot!' he cried within his thoughts, 'Why did I let my emotions get the better of me in that situation?!'   
  
He let out a big, devastated sigh before using as much strength as he could to flip his sluggish body over so he was looking at the ceiling. No doubt Misaki was angry at him. This wasn't what he wanted. He just wanted her to just actually listen to him for once. He wished everyone would just listen to him. He didn't want them to continue to treat him like he was a child; to keep him in the dark about things, like what had happened to him ten years ago for example.   
  
The events of ten years ago were a blur to Aichi, but he did know that something happened that almost put him in danger. He did remember that after the time he was supposedly in danger, he woke up in his bed, barely remembering anything about himself. It was believed that the trauma of the event made him forget things, but the prince was sure that wasn't really the case.   
  
No one ever bothered to explain the event to him. All they would tell him was that there was a time he was once in danger. The event must've scared the kingdom though, for since then Aichi could only leave the palace grounds with an escort. If only he could remember what had happened.   
  
But even though the entire kingdom kept secret on what happened to Aichi that time, the prince kept a secret of his own.   
  
He reached out from under his shirt and pulled out something that hanged from around his neck. Aichi never told or showed anyone, but the moment he woke up that time, he found this metal pendant around his neck. It was a unique looking pendant round in shape with a carving of a dragon curled in a ball with a ruby in its possession. Aichi had no memory of ever being given such an item, yet something in his heart urged for him to keep that pendant safe, that it was important. He never bothered to question anyone about the existence of the pendant, for he worried that if he did, the item would be confiscated out of his grasp. And that made him decide to keep the pendant hidden. In fact, the existence of this pendant was what made Aichi begin to question the things around him.   
  
The feelings that flowed through his heart whenever he looked at the pendant were unusual yet not unpleasant. Every time he brought the item close to his chest, a surge of tender warmth filled his entire being, as if being held near something strong and comforting. What was this feeling? He could never figure it out.   
  
He had decided. As much as he didn't want to hurt Misaki any more than he had already done or to hurt anyone else he cared about, he had to find answers to the mystery tonight, no matter what the cost. Completely sure this was what he wanted to do; Aichi got up from the bed and put on a hood and cape that hid his identity before making his way to the door.   
  
The way through the halls out of the palace were always tricky to get out of, and knowing Misaki, she would probably increase the security to make sure Aichi didn't get out this time. At this point, no doubt she couldn't trust him. But the prince refused to let that stop him.   
  
Although the halls were tall and wide enough to fly through, Aichi knew from experience that flying would be a terrible idea, for flapping his wings could make a sound that if close enough would let someone know he was out of his room and the gusts that would be created from the force would also be very alerting. When he was sure no guards were walking around, he made his way through the halls as quietly as possible. He had a few close encounters with the guards but was able to avoid them by either making his way through another hallway or any small dark gaps in between some walls.   
  
He eventually made it out of the palace and into the courtyard. If he could just make it to a spot where he wouldn't be seen as he flies off, he will have no trouble. As he made his way across, he found it weird how there wasn't as much security outside as there was inside. He wondered why. He was about to make it to a part of the courtyard that was covered in shadows when something bright came in front of him. Adjusting his eyes to the light, he found that he was trapped in a cage made out of electrical currents, which luckily had enough width and height to prevent him from being zapped just by standing. Aichi mentally slapped himself. He knew this seemed too easy. Of course there would be a trap.   
  
"What the hell? Who's there?"   
  
Aichi turned in the direction of the voice to see an all too familiar face. Out of all the knights that would patrol the courtyard he knew it had to be Naoki. The auburn haired knight's eyes widened the moment he recognized the prince and helped him out of there.   
  
"Your Highness! What were you doing in there?" he asked in concern as the prince was adjusting his attire, "Were you trying to sneak out again? It's a good thing I caught you or the captain would freak again."   
  
"Naoki, I'm sorry," Aichi began speaking; not bothering to hide the desperation in his voice, "But I really must leave!"   
  
Before he could leave, the knight grabbed his arm and pulled him close. "Why? What is so important that you have to leave in the middle of the night? Was it the same reason you disappeared before? Or something else entirely?"   
  
Aichi lowered his head. There was no way he could tell Naoki about it. Even if he wanted to, he doubted that he would believe him. He would probably find him mad like everyone else probably did. So he just kept silent.   
  
The auburn haired knight sighed as he scratched his head and looked up at the walls that surrounded the courtyard. "You know, Your Highness," he continued, "As much as I know you would want to leave for something, I just can't let you do that while you aren't escorted by a knight."   
  
That brought the prince down. He was so close to be free from his cage and look for the answers he needed to seek. What awful timing it was to be caught by Naoki who actually wasn't napping for once. Maybe he made sure to make himself more alert while on guard duty after the incident that happened last time. Even so, this was bad news on Aichi's end, for this meant he wouldn't be able to head to the castle now that he was caught. Sure, he could fight his way out, but Aichi was not the violent type, and even if he was, Naoki was bigger and stronger than him, even without a weapon. Like a dog with its tail between its legs, Aichi very slowly made his way back to the palace.   
  
"Where are you going now?"   
  
The prince looked back at the knight as they both stared at each other in confusion. "Back to my room?" he replied, "Because since you found me, I should be escorted back to my room, right?"   
  
"I guess," Naoki replied, "But didn't you go through all this trouble just to get out here?"   
  
"But it's just as you said; you won't let me leave."   
  
Another sigh escaped the knight's lips, this time more annoyed. "Let me correct you Your Highness. It's not that I won't let you go, it's that I can't let you go, not without a knight escorting you."   
  
Aichi just tilted his head. He was even more confused. "But isn't that the same thing?"   
  
Naoki glared at the prince, more out of frustration than anger. Aichi felt nervous. Did he say something wrong? "Your Highness, think carefully about what I just said!"   
  
The prince was not sure why the knight was going through so much trouble to constantly repeat something the former already knew. After all, it was clearly knocked into his head that he could only leave if a knight was willing to escort him and-!   
  
Aichi's eyes widened and brought his attention back to Naoki, who was smirking upon noticing the former had just caught on. The blue haired prince shook his head. "No, Naoki, I can't let you-!"   
  
"Please, Your Highness!" Naoki walked closer and brought his hands onto the prince's shoulders, "Let me go with you! You'll get into less trouble as long as you have a knight with you!"   
  
"But you'll get into trouble if you come with me. I can't let that happen."   
  
"I'll risk it as long as you find what you are looking for and remain safe by the end of it!"   
  
Aichi couldn't believe what Naoki was saying. He'd risk it? Why would he drive himself to do this? He asked that to the auburn haired knight, who lowered his arms off the prince's shoulders and avoided eye contact.   
  
"All my life, I heard stories about the knights of the Gold Winged Clan," he began, "Stories of how they had battled thousands of monsters sent by the Void to protect their kingdom. There was even the story of how they saved you from danger ten years ago. I never got full details on how they saved you and what they saved you from though."   
  
"You and me both," Aichi muttered, keeping it below his breath so the other male couldn't hear it.   
  
"And so becoming a knight became my dream," Naoki continued, "I wanted to be as amazing as the knights in those stories! So I began working hard to be a knight, training every day, and now here I am. But I never expected it to be like this."   
  
"'Like this'?"   
  
"You know, all this guard work and… just sitting around and doing nothing. I kept on thinking 'Why am I sitting around doing this when I could be defeating bad guys?' And through most of this job, this had been my mindset. But I realized something that day when you had snuck out that day; guarding and escorting seem boring, but they are important jobs, right? And because of that mindset I had going for me, I look pretty unreliable, right? And don't try to deny it; I know you think that way too!"   
  
"Naoki…"   
  
Aichi didn't know what to say. He honestly thought that Naoki was a great knight. He knew that the auburn haired knight was really passionate about his job. But what proof was there to show he believed in him the way he was now? The young prince couldn't think of any. Aside from the feeling in his heart, that is. But like Misaki, Naoki probably wouldn't take that as a proper excuse and think of it Aichi trying to cheer him up.   
  
"So please take me with you, Your Highness!" Naoki exclaimed desperately, "I swear under the name of the Gold Winged Clan that I will protect you. I will prove to everyone my reliability and just how serious I really am as a knight! I know I'm just sounding selfish but…"   
  
The prince stood there silently. The auburn haired knight's confidence and energy were shining brightly. He truly was serious about this. Even so, Aichi was not sure if he should really take Naoki with him. The idea of someone risking their life for him really scared him, just like that time when Misaki tried to save him from the red dragon. But Aichi knew he didn't really have a choice in the matter. He needed to get to the castle ruins as soon as possible before anyone else realizes he was missing and Naoki's determination to prove his reliability would benefit himself no matter what the prince's decision was. So why not make it so it helps the prince? Plus, it did seem like he wanted to help Aichi with whatever it was the latter was set on doing, despite that bit of selfishness on his part.   
  
A light sigh escaped the prince's lips as he gave a small, defeated smile. "Alright," he answered, "But if we are to leave, we need to leave quickly."   
  
Naoki nodded and bowed. "Thank you, Your Highness. I will not let you down."   
  
With no more words left to be spoken, Aichi and Naoki began to soar up into the air successfully unseen, and made their way in the direction of the castle ruins.   
  
XxXxX   
  
The town outside the palace was quiet as it usually was during the night. Barely anyone roamed the streets as it was usually the time to stay inside their homes, whether just to relax and/ or to fall asleep after a long busy day. Misaki was one of the few who was still hanging around outside; the bright golden lights shining the path as she slowly walked with no set destination in mind.   
  
She could not get Aichi's words out of her head; the one thing she loathed when it came to her extraordinary memory. Whether he really meant it or not, the fact that Aichi of all people said it was quite heartbreaking. She had always believed to let her mind guide her, for it was her high intellect and memory that would help her achieve victory. That's why situations called for her to ignore her heart. Not that her heart was needed in most cases during her duty as a knight anyway.   
  
But this whole situation with Aichi had been making her start questioning her actions. No doubt Aichi had been acting strange for a long time; always sneaking off to somewhere, the fact that he believes that animals could talk to him, his obsession with the Red Winged Clan. Logically, it could be said that Aichi had gone mad. But had he really? Or maybe Misaki really is in the wrong here and that everything the prince had been saying is the complete truth? She let out a sigh.   
  
"Father, Mother, what would you both do in this situation?"   
  
All this time while walking, she didn't realize that she unconsciously headed towards some sort of old building. The cemented walls were cracked slightly, though not big enough for major concern. The roof was a different story though. The tiles looked like they were ready to fall off any moment. A sign hanged there on a ledge with faded words spelling "Blacksmith" in the winged language. For a brief moment, Misaki had forgotten her troubles and let out a small chuckle as flashes of nostalgia came back to her.   
  
'Some things never change,' she mused in her head. Even though she was sure the owner of the building wasn't expecting anyone else to come in, she knew he wouldn't mind a visit from her.   
  
The door creaked loudly as it opened, revealing a room messy from the amount of weapons lying around, dull, broken or otherwise. The female knight groaned. Didn't the owner of this building know that having all of these things on the floor was dangerous? Someone could easily get hurt if they didn't watch where they were stepping.   
  
"Hello!" Misaki called out, "You're home, aren't you?"   
  
A crash could be heard from upstairs followed by loud, thundering footsteps running across the floor above and down the stairs, coming out from a doorway at the back of the room. It was a middle aged man with spiky hair dressed in work clothes and an apron. He had on glasses that appeared to be all fogged up, making the young woman a little nervous on how his sight was with them in that state. Even so, it appeared like he could see her just fine and shined a giant grin.   
  
"Misaki, is that you?!" The man made his way towards Misaki, completely forgetting about the many different pieces of metal on the floor, and stepped on a mace. He let out a painful howl as he jumped around, holding his foot and tried to be careful to not step on anything else.   
  
The female knight let out a sigh. She knew something like that would happen. Making sure she didn't make the same mistake, Misaki carefully treaded over the weapons on the floor to reach the man. It would've been easier to just glide over, but the room was not big enough for her to do so. The moment she reached him, she helped him walk back upstairs and reach his bed. Once he was seated comfortably aside from the excruciating pain in his foot, the young woman sat down beside him, brought his leg up onto her lap, took off his shoe so she could properly look at the wound, and held her hand up near it, causing it to glow gold. The wound slowly started to patch itself up and appear as if there had been no wound there at all.   
  
As soon as it was completely healed, Misaki put the man's foot down with so much force it almost got wounded again. She glared at him. "You wouldn't have had this happen to you if you simply just put those weapons away!" she scolded him, "Why were they on the floor in the first place?!"   
  
The man gave a sheepish grin as he began to scratch his head. "Truth is I was going through all those weapons to keep a note of the ones I had made and the ones that still need repairing. I just forgot to put them all away once I was done. I didn't even think anyone would show up tonight, especially not my dear niece."   
  
The young woman lowered her head. "I… just decided to stop by and see how you and this place were doing. I mean you take care of this place all by yourself and you're just so hopeless that it's a wonder you still keep this going, Shin."   
  
Shin was dumbfounded by his niece's comment. "That's a pretty cold thing to say…"   
  
The rest of the time, Misaki and Shin were just talking about random topics; how the blacksmith business and the blacksmith himself were doing as the female knight had mentioned, anything that had been going on around them whether it was something the blacksmith had noticed in the city or what the young woman had noticed in the castle, how the royal family was doing, and many other things. Misaki neglected to mention anything regarding the prince's recent behaviour, for she didn't want to worry her uncle into thinking that there was trouble.   
  
When they finished talking about how Misaki's daily life was, Shin gave a sincere smile. "Well, it's good to see that you've been doing well, Misaki!" he said, "I have no doubt within my mind that your parents would be so proud of you if they saw you right now."   
  
Misaki's frown deepened as she looked away from her uncle. Would her parents really be proud of her? Especially with what was going on? After all, her parents were two strong knights who could get everything accomplished and gain respect by everyone, whether it was the people or the rest of the knights or the royal family. But she didn't feel like she had done anything that would give her parents or anyone for that matter the right to be proud of her.   
  
Shin wrapped his arm around Misaki's shoulder and held her close. "Now don't make that look. Smile! Enjoy yourself!" He gave her a grin. "It's not everyday you get to visit your Uncle Shin!"   
  
He received a scowl from the young woman in return. The blacksmith chuckled as he stood up and walked over to the other side of the room to sort some things he noticed didn't look right. "You can always visit me, you know," he continued, "I'm always happy when you come around to see me. And if you ever have a problem, don't be afraid to talk to me about it. I'll always listen to what you want to say. Although you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It's your choice."   
  
The female knight just sat there in silence. She didn't know what to say. She was never one to really talk about her problems and she didn't feel like starting now. And so after a bit more time had passed, Misaki finally gave her farewells to her uncle and headed back to the palace. She had to admit that she felt a little bit better after all that, though she was still hurt about what happened between her and Aichi. With it so late, the prince was probably already asleep in his chambers so maybe it would be best if they talked in the morning.   
  
But she did not expect what had happened as soon as she got back.   
  
Knights were all over the place both on the ground and in the air, making alarming noises. Misaki stood there confused. What was going on? She moved forward, determined to get some answers on the situation. She then heard someone calling for her. She turned towards the direction of the voice to see Shingo run over towards her. Desperate to know the situation, she demanded to know what was going on. The royal advisor, who was out of breath the moment he reached the captain, took a deep breath and began to explain.   
  
He told Misaki that after noticing Aichi not acting like himself as soon as he returned to his room, Emi was deeply concerned for him. She tried to ignore it at first, but eventually her concern turned to complete worry. She had asked one of the knights to see how the prince was doing, only to find that the prince wasn't even in his room. Knights had been searching the entire palace for the prince only to find that he was nowhere to been seen. They had come to the conclusion that Aichi had left without a word again.   
  
Misaki cursed under her breath. She was sure that the knights she assigned to keep watch would do a good job at keeping an eye on the prince. It never occurred to her that Aichi would actually find a way to slip out with how tight the security was. It didn't matter though. The fact that Aichi was out there was a big problem. And she knew exactly where it was he was going.   
  
Before she could act, Kamui flew over towards them. "Captain! Bad news! Not only has His Highness disappeared, but it appears Naoki has disappeared as well! Do you think…?"   
  
"If that is indeed the case," Shingo spoke up, "Then I am relieved to know that that idiot actually does have a brain. Now he just needs to know how to use it. Doesn't he realize that he isn't experienced enough to protect the prince on his own?"   
  
More figures appeared to be coming over to them. Shizuka walked over to the group with Emi following close behind. Both appeared to be very worried, though Misaki couldn't blame them. This was someone from their family that had disappeared after all. Shizuka looked over at the female knight.   
  
"Captain Misaki," the queen began, "Do you have any idea where my son would be at this time?" Misaki nodded. "In that case, I ask that you find him and bring him back safely. As you know, he is not only precious to me and my family, but to the entire kingdom as well."   
  
Emi stepped forward and looked up at the lilac haired woman. "Please Misaki, you need to find Aichi before he hurts himself."   
  
Misaki bowed. "Queen Shizuka. Princess Emi. I will find His Highness, Prince Aichi, and return him safely to the palace."   
  
Shizuka and Emi both nodded. The captain then took her leave, tapping Kamui's shoulder and gesturing him to come with her. The young knight hesitated at first, worrying for the princess's safety. But after he assured himself that she would be alright even without his protection, he followed Misaki up into the air and flew away, going off to search for the prince.   
  
XxXxX   
  
"You know, I really gotta ask; where are we going exactly?"   
  
Naoki had been following Aichi through Sunrise Valley and into the forest that led to the barren wasteland. The prince had been silent the entire time. He was not going to let anything stop him from learning the truth. He was too focused on that fact that he hadn't been paying attention to anything the auburn haired knight was saying. Naoki could only follow as they finally reached their destination.   
  
The castle ruins already had an unsettling air when Aichi came the first time, but returning in the middle of the night felt suffocating. Naoki made a loud gulp as he stared at the crumbling building.   
  
"You're telling me that… we're going in there?" Naoki asked, trying to stop his voice from trembling, "You know what, I'll stand guard out here just in case someone comes! It would be better off for you if I did so, right?"   
  
Aichi didn't respond. Instead he just walked inside, leaving Naoki alone in front of the front gate. The auburn knight felt tense knowing the prince just left him there. He groaned. What the hell was wrong with him? He said that he would be showing how reliable he was and already he was looking like a coward in front of the prince.   
  
Before he began to debate on what he should do now, one of the stones on the wall crumbled down, spooking Naoki to the point of screaming his head off and running into the castle ruins. He ran until he bumped into something, in which he recognized immediately to be the prince. Naoki quickly stood upright and began to act like nothing had scared him to begin with.   
  
"I… heard a scream and I was concerned for your safety so I ran in," he lied.   
  
The look on Aichi's face meant he knew what had really happened. He didn't press the issue though and honestly he didn't think it mattered. He continued onward with the auburn knight right behind him, and by right behind I mean he kept very close to the point where he was using Aichi as a shield. Before Naoki had joined him, the prince had already conjured a ball of light to help shine the way, especially since it was a lot darker due to the night sky.   
  
They continued walking until Aichi found it uncomfortable and very distracting with the close distance between him and his trembling knight. Letting out a soft, airy sigh, Aichi looked up at Naoki. "You know, if it really bothers you to be here then you are more than welcome to return to the palace…"

Naoki realized what that meant and swiftly took a few steps back; pretending like the fear of walking around in the dark ruins didn't affect him. "No way!" the auburn haired knight replied, "I swore to you that I would stay here and protect you and that is what I'm going to do!"   
  
It definitely seemed like Naoki's mind had been made up. Then again, he was always the person to follow through with what he says a lot of the time. Not even bothering to question him any more, Aichi continued walking. He was grateful that the knight was giving him space now. That way he had more freedom to check out whatever caught his eye.   
  
Like the last time Aichi had came to the ruins, lots of stone pieces from the walls and roof caved down blocking certain hallways. However, it appeared to look worse than the last time. The blue haired boy figured that would be the case though considering that time with the red dragon. However this time there was no red dragon to prevent him from venturing farther in.   
  
They continued walking, turning around and searching through alternative routes should one be blocked, until they came across a set of stairs going downward. Aichi was about to make his down when Naoki raised his arm, blocking the prince's way. The blue haired boy was about to ask what was wrong until he noticed the glow on the knight's other hand. Raising his glowing hand just a little bit, electrical currents flowed out of his hand and started to merge together, creating some sort of electrical man. It walked down the stairs and Naoki and Aichi only had to wait.   
  
It didn't seem like there was anything wrong before the auburn haired knight noticed a glow unlike the one from the electrical man he made. His eyes widened and his attention shifted back to the prince.   
  
"Your Highness, get down!" he shouted, pulling both of them flat on the cold, ash covered stone ground. They could feel the ground shaking heavily as an explosion erupted from below them that was a combination of the fiery blast from what was below and the pieces of lightning from the electrical man, smoke rising up out of the stairway down. Loose pieces of stone from the ceiling above them came crashing down, though it was lucky that none of them hit them.   
  
When it was safe, Naoki stood up and helped the prince back on his feet. He showed concern for the latter's safety, getting a response of assurance in return. They both looked back at the stairway.   
  
"What was that?" Aichi asked.   
  
"No doubt a booby trap," Naoki replied, "Kinda glad I actually paid attention on that lesson when I was still in Knight School. Still, whatever is down there, the people that lived here don't want us to check it out."   
  
The blue haired boy looked back at his companion. "But how come?" The knight only shrugged.   
  
"Hmm… I wonder…"   
  
Aichi and Naoki jumped upon the intrusion of another voice from behind. They turned around, seeing three people dressed in black. Naoki didn't know who they were and why they were there, but Aichi recognized them all too well, especially the one who spoke up. After all, their black wings help give them away.   
  
"You are… King Ren of the Black Winged Clan…" said Aichi.   
  
The crimson haired male chuckled. "I'm glad that you remember me, Prince Aichi."   
  
The young prince stared in awe. "You know who I am?"   
  
"You are the future king of the Gold Winged Clan. If I didn't know your identity then it would seem like I didn't give a damn whether our kingdoms worked together or not, now would it?"   
  
Aichi did not know how to respond to that. The black winged king continued as he began to pace around. "Seeing as you are here and the fact that you show curiosity, Your Highness, I would assume you have already figured out what this place is."   
  
Cerulean eyes widened. "So it's really true?" he asked, "This castle is the one that belonged to the Red Winged Clan?"   
  
Naoki, who had been silent the whole time, was surprised to hear what he heard. "Isn't the Red Winged Clan something from myth though?"   
  
Ren looked confused at first before realizing what it was. "That's right! You've been raised to believe that the Red Winged Clan is fictional!" He smiled, feeling proud of himself. "That's why you think they don't exist."   
  
"What do you mean?"   
  
The black winged king began to pace. "Many years ago, the Red Winged Clan was like the other clans that live here in the Cloudlands. But as the Void became more restless, the Red Winged Clan was just as restless. And as expected of the clan known as the Red Winged Clan of Valour, they were determined to find a way to destroy the Void once and for all. So much so… that they did something that angered the other clans; an act so unforgiving that the other clans had no choice but to exile the Red Winged Clan… or what was left of it, that is. After that the other clans made a pact that if anyone from a younger generation were to ask, the existence of the Red Winged Clan would be claimed as fictitious."   
  
"But what did the Red Winged Clan do that was meant for such treatment?" Aichi asked curiously.   
  
The crimson haired male stopped pacing and looked over towards the younger male; his expression darkened as their eyes met, causing the gold winged prince to tremble nervously. In a cold, sharp tone he replied; "They created 'the tool'."   
  
There it was again. 'The tool'. This frustrated Aichi. What was 'the tool'? Why did it cause the Red Winged Clan to be exiled? He was about to step forward and ask when an arm blocked him. He looked up to see Naoki who was glaring at Ren. Aichi was not sure what the auburn haired knight was thinking.   
  
"I've got a question for you," Naoki began, "This 'tool' you speak of; is that the reason why you're here?"   
  
Ren's eyes narrowed. "Why do you ask?"   
  
"You're a king, right? Don't you have other things you would be doing rather than explore the ruins of a clan you say was 'exiled' and not a fairytale?"   
  
"Couldn't the same be said about you?" the crimson haired male asked, "This is surely no place for a prince, right?"   
  
But Naoki ignored his comment. Something wasn't right. He turned his attention to Aichi. "Your Highness, please be careful. King or not, I don't trust this guy."   
  
Aichi's eyes widened on Naoki's comment. Even the knight himself, who had never met the Black Winged Clan's king, was keeping his guard up. The blue haired prince looked back at Ren, who was staring back at him with a sly smirk. Why was he showing such an expression?   
  
But then, it happened. That strange feeling from the last time came over Aichi once again, only this time he was able to keep his breathing in check. Like the time with the red dragon, his eyes began to glow and he saw something he wished was an illusion. A dark aura was seeping through Ren's entire being like smoke. If this was exactly like the time with the red dragon…   
  
Naoki watched worryingly as the prince started taking some steps back; his eyes, which had stopped glowing, stared at Ren full of terror. His breath was ragged as he tried to let the words out. He kept walking backwards until he felt a lack of something underneath his foot. His body leaned backwards, almost about to fall down the stairway with the booby trap until the auburn haired knight made it to him in time and caught him. All that time, Aichi's gaze never left Ren.   
  
"Y-You…" Aichi could barely let out as his voice whimpered, "You're possessed by the Void."   
  
Ren's smirk grew into a big satisfied grin, snickering at Aichi's conclusion. "I wondered what it was I felt back at the meeting that made me feel all woozy. It was you after all! You have the gift!" His snickering grew into full blown laughter upon the realization. It made Aichi and Naoki feel rather uncomfortable.   
  
Naoki helped Aichi back onto his feet and away from the staircase. Aichi was petrified upon learning this unwanted truth. The Void had control over one of the clan leaders. That meant the Void had control over part of the Cloudlands. The beloved home of the winged people was already starting to die.   
  
The auburn haired knight stared at Aichi in worry. No doubt by staying here they would be in great danger. He leaned close to the prince's ear. "Your Highness, get out of here as fast as you can."   
  
Cerulean eyes snapped out of its thoughts and widened upon hearing the knight's demand. He was about to ask why when the knight continued. "I don't know what it is he is planning, but whatever it is, my gut is telling me that your life might be in danger. I will keep them at bay while you escape."   
  
"I can't let you do that!" Aichi cried; trying to keep his voice inaudible in front of Ren and his knights.   
  
"It's my duty as a knight of the Gold Winged Clan to protect you." Naoki moved in front of the prince and pulled out his weapon of choice from his back; a giant sledgehammer. The blue haired boy couldn't believe it. Was Naoki really going to do this? Was he really going to fight against the Black Winged Clan? No doubt the auburn haired knight was going to get himself hurt.   
  
Naoki noticed how Aichi was still behind him; the latter's expression easily readable. No doubt the prince was worried for the knight's safety. Naoki gave him a determined look followed by a nod. It was a gesture that read 'You can trust me'.   
  
As much as he didn't want to, Aichi knew he had no choice. Once Naoki had an idea in his mind, he was going to follow it through until he succeeded. Silently praying for the knight's safety, Aichi did as he was told and rushed out of there as fast as he could.   
  
Ren cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Are you sure it is a good idea to let your prince escape alone? Wouldn't it have been the smarter option to escape with him?"   
  
Naoki took a battle stance. "I made an oath as a knight to protect the Gold Winged Clan with all my strength. I will fight you and protect Prince Aichi!"   
  
"Is that so?" the crimson haired male chuckled, "What a fool you are. Tetsu!" One of the knights, a tall male, walked forward. "Take care of this brat."   
  
The tall male, Tetsu, bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty." He pulled out his own weapons of choice; giant twin blades, and took up his own fighting stance while Ren and the other knight went off to catch Aichi. Both gold and black winged knights stared at each other intensively; neither one planning to back down, before dashing towards each other and clashing weapons.   
  
XxXxX   
  
"Captain! Where exactly are we going?" Kamui called out from behind as he followed the captain; his speed lacking compared to hers. Misaki did not heed him, for she was both angry and concerned about Aichi. Going back to the castle ruins at night? What was he thinking? And what was Naoki thinking in accompanying him? No doubt there would be hell to pay the moment she finds them.   
  
They made their way past the forest, up the stairs, and over the wasteland when they finally reached the castle ruins. They were about to land when they noticed a gold and azure glow zooming out the ruins and flying off in another direction. Though their movement was swift, Misaki recognized it immediately.   
  
It was Aichi.   
  
She was about to act when she saw two more figures, completely in black, flying off in the same direction as Aichi. What was going on? What was after Aichi? And where was Naoki?   
  
The two knights could hear battle cries coming from inside the ruins. No doubt Naoki was in there. And from the sound of things, he was losing. Misaki commanded Kamui to aid the auburn haired knight while she went off to help their prince. The younger knight complied without any hesitation or defiance and rushed inside. With no time left to spare, the female knight flew in the direction Aichi and the two figures were heading, hoping the prince would be safe by the time she got there.   
  
As for Aichi, he was focused on getting Ren off his trail. Where was he flying? How did he plan to escape the black winged king? The prince did not know. What was most important was getting away. And as fast as Aichi was going, he could see the crimson haired male and his knight quickly catching up. Panicking, the gold winged boy desperately kept diving closer to the ground or rising higher into the air to pick up on any tailwind he could get. But that did not stop Ren from doing the same thing. Aichi could feel his wings slowly getting sore from the amount of flying he had already done. If this continued, he could collapse and be easily captured.   
  
But then, from a distance, as if it were a miracle, Aichi could see what looked like a giant forest still covered in green. He could hide in there and be able to lose Ren. He wasted no time as he dived in; a few leaves breaking off from the strong force of the wind. He glided closer and closer to the ground, dashing deeper into the woods, hiding in the darkness. Ren and the knight accompanying him halted above the trees, scanning the area as they searched for the prince. They were at it for quite a bit before they decided look somewhere else.   
  
Aichi watched as both king and knight of the Black Winged Clan flew away. He let out a relieved sigh, relaxing against the soft, lush ground. Little did he know that the ground he was standing on was thinner than any normal piece of earth and could not support his weight, resulting with the gold winged boy falling through. The sudden drop caught the prince off guard so he didn't have time to react before he hit the bottom.   
  
He was lucky that the hole he fell into wasn't that deep and that he landed on his butt rather than anywhere that could at least cause a bad sprain. It didn't mean he didn't feel any pain from that landing though. Wincing from the sharp feeling on his behind, he slowly stood back up. He looked upwards from the hole he fell into and figured that it wouldn't be hard to fly back up there.   
  
But something caught his attention.   
  
What he fell down into was not really a hole at all, but some sort of underground tunnel. It was pretty spacious though didn't really have that much of a cosy atmosphere. The rocks were as cold as ice and the air left a chill through the boy's entire body. But what really got his attention was what he could see at the end of the tunnel; a faint yet soothing glow. Aichi began walking in the direction of the glow, his curiosity controlling his body yet again like a puppeteer controlling the actions of a doll. The sight that lay before him the moment he reached the end was unlike anything the prince had ever seen before.   
  
Right in front of him was a lake that filled most of the cave; blues, greens, and whites swirling and blending together like something from an abstract painting. The rocks surrounding the giant body of water, which made up the walls, ceiling, and ground, had tiny specks of lights coming out from it. It gave Aichi the feeling like he was floating in a starry sky without the need to flap his wings. It was mesmerizing; a sight that Aichi believed only existed in fairytales.   
  
He walked closer to the lake, getting a better look at it. Despite the array of colours, the water didn't appear very dense, for he could easily see his own reflection. Strangely though, there didn't seem to be any form of underwater wildlife swimming around. Aichi assumed they probably lived deeper down, for he couldn't see the bottom either.   
  
"Quite an interesting place, isn't it?"   
  
Aichi was startled upon hearing that familiar voice; the voice of someone he didn't want there. He quickly turned around to see his nightmare in front of him. His body grew dense and he made sure to keep his guard up in case the person in front of him tried anything funny.   
  
Ren kept his usual amused smirk. He was rather enjoying himself in seeing the prince's reactions towards him, despite being that of fear or confusion. It was sadistic with how much fun he was having because of this, but he didn't care.   
  
"H-How did you find me?" Aichi finally managed to speak up, unable to hide the terror in his voice.   
  
The crimson haired male chuckled. "You aren't the only one with powers not many winged people would have." Just as he said those words, his red cat like eyes began to glow the same way Aichi's did. "I too possess some interesting talents of my own. And my talent… involves seeing the near future. While I can't control it of free will, when my power is activated, it is very useful."   
  
Aichi couldn't believe it. Ren too possessed some sort of power? Could he take that to mean… they were the same in a way? No! Aichi refused to be swayed by this. Similar powers or not, Ren was being controlled by the Void. He shouldn't let himself be fooled. "What is it that you want from me?!"   
  
"What I want?" Ren asked as he tilted his head, giving the most innocent expression he could muster, "I want you to join me and use your powers to help me end this ongoing war for good."   
  
"Never!" the prince didn't hesitate on his answer.   
  
The black winged king's eyes widened. "But why? Don't you want to stop the suffering?"   
  
"Of course I do!" Aichi replied, bringing his hand close to his chest, "But I will never join the Void's side!"   
  
Ren's expression darkened. "Really?" He began to move closer to the gold winged prince while the latter tried to keep his distance, being careful he didn't fall into the lake as a result. "So you're saying that you will protect the side that had been lying to you for all these years?"   
  
Aichi looked at the crimson haired male curiously, keeping hold of his ground. "What do you mean?"   
  
"Come on! They lied to you about the Red Winged Clan not being real! As far as you know they could've been lying to you about other stuff as well, such as your powers. Or maybe not even lie. Just keeping secrets from you. Have you not had the feeling like everyone knows something that you don't; that they don't trust you enough to tell you what it is even though you are supposed to be the Gold Winged Clan's future king?"   
  
A sharp pain ran through Aichi's heart, as if Ren could easily read his thoughts and worries. So many mysteries regarding the Red Winged Clan were still there as well as the secrets about whatever happened to Aichi all those years ago. Could his powers be related somehow? And what about 'the tool'? Its entire existence was still a mystery, like what it was, why it was created, and how it got the Red Winged Clan killed or exiled in the case of survivors. He didn't want to flaunt his title as future king as means to get the information he wanted, but was he that unreliable?   
  
Both Ren and Aichi had not realized though that Misaki had been there the whole time. She had been watching Ren very closely and managed to follow him without being seen. She was currently hiding behind a rock, listening in on their conversation ready to jump out if she sensed the slightest amount of danger. The moment Ren began to push on Aichi's doubts, the lilac haired girl prepared for her attack and was ready to charge.   
  
But before she could make her move, something long and flexible shot out and coiled its body around her, restraining her from any movement. She looked down at what had hold of her. A snake? No, the body appeared too sharp to be a snake.   
  
A navy blue haired girl with black wings appeared before her, holding what looked like a hilt that was attached to the snake like binds around the gold winged knight. "Tough luck, but there's no way I'll let you anywhere close to King Ren."   
  
Misaki silently cursed in her mind. It didn't occur to her that the knight that was with Ren might have been hiding herself in case of something like this happening.   
  
The whole ordeal didn't go unnoticed, for the moment Misaki was caught, Ren and Aichi turned their attention to the two girls. Aichi cried out her name, worried for the lilac haired girl's safety. It appeared like things had set themselves to Ren's advantage. He smirked.   
  
"I see this girl is important to you," he mused, "She should be careful. Asaka's snake sword can be very deadly if someone were to struggle in its grasp." He brought his index finger to his chin, as if he were pondering. "Though I forget if that also applies if Asaka decides to tighten its grasp. Asaka, if you could help ease my curiosity, is it possible for your sword to tighten around its prey?"   
  
The navy blue haired girl, Asaka, let out a chuckle. "Of course it can, Your Majesty," she replied with a bow, "In fact, I shall show you."   
  
With no more words spoken, the snake sword tightened its grip on Misaki, causing the lilac haired girl to let out an ear piercing scream. The small whip of blades was easily cutting through her skin and wings; the colour of crimson slowly covering most of her body. Not only through her skin, but the blades were easily cutting through her armour as well. Aichi stood petrified as he watched the torturous act slowly going on. If he didn't do something, there would be nothing of Misaki but tons of chopped pieces.   
  
"Wait!" the prince cried out, his hands trembling as they clenched against his chest.   
  
The crimson haired male raised his hand, gesturing for the black winged knight to halt her actions. The latter did as he asked, the snake sword slightly loosening its grasp but not enough for Misaki to escape. Ren moved closer to the blue haired boy. "I assume you know what I'm getting at, Prince Aichi? Join me and I'll let her go… alive."   
  
Aichi was not sure what to do. He didn't want to do anything to help the Void yet he couldn't let anything happen to Misaki. He was trapped at a crossroad; one where there was no right answer without consequences. He noticed the black winged king getting closer. Aichi kept stepping back; forgetting all about the lake behind him.   
  
Just as he reached the edge of the lake, he lost his footing and fell in.   
  
"Your Highness!" Misaki cried the moment the prince fell. Even Ren himself showed concern, but not for the same reason as the lilac haired girl.   
  
The moment he fell in, Aichi tried to swim back up and out of the lake. But no matter how much strength he put into his strokes, some sort of strange current was pulling him deeper into the lake. And it didn't help that the lack of sleep from the past couple of days caused him to drain his energy quicker. It didn't take long before he could no longer swim and the lack of energy caused him to fall into an unconscious state, the strong current pulling him deeper and deeper into the bottomless lake until he could no longer be seen.   
  
Misaki stared at the lake. She noticed that Aichi was not coming up. Seeing that Asaka had now lowered her guard upon the shock of the prince's actions, the gold winged captain managed to escape from the snake sword's grasp and despite the vast amount of wounds around her entire body quickly made her way to the edge of the lake. If the prince was drowning, she needed to jump in to save him.   
  
However, the moment she reached the edge, the lake began to glow brighter, blinding Misaki, Ren, and Asaka. It was glaring at first, but Misaki managed to get her eyes slightly used to the light. When she looked back down at the lake, she noticed that the water appeared like it was beginning to freeze. No way could she let that happen! She jumped onto the now frozen water, trying to race it before the lake was completely covered in ice.   
  
But she didn't make it. Although not bad enough to be fatal, the cuts on her body were still deep enough to restrict her movements. She could barely move her wings, considering how they were the most sensitive part of a winged person's entire body. And it didn't help that the smooth surface of the ice made it even harder to move, especially rapidly. By the time she reached the end, the lake was completely frozen.   
  
And Aichi was gone.   
  
Feeling her body going numb from the realization, she collapsed onto her knees. Her hands turned to fists as they clenched against the cold solid water below her. Her eyes began to sting as tears began to well up. Her despair grew to anger as she gathered back the strength to stand back up and taking out her spear, she had begun to use it to pick at the ice, doing everything she could to break it.   
  
Ren and Asaka had been standing at the same spots they were at before the incident. The crimson haired male let out a sigh. "So much for that plan." He looked over at the lilac haired girl, who was still trying to pierce through the ice despite the lack of progress. He felt sorry for her. No doubt she had no idea what that lake was.   
  
"Hey!" He called over to her, "You can try all you want but the ice is not going to break!" Misaki showed no signs of stopping. Another sigh escaped. "I will tell you this; the young prince is not dead. However, it will be a while before you see him again. Or should I say… if you see him again."   
  
The gold winged captain stopped what she was doing and glared over at the black winged king; a mix of sadness and rage expressed on her visage. "What the hell do you mean by that?"   
  
Ren tilted his head. "You really don't know what this place is?" He shrugged. "Well, whatever. It's not like I care. After all, this just means I have to wait a little longer before I get what I want… or I should say what the Void wants." With nothing left to be said, he began walking away. Asaka panicked a little as she realized her king walking away and hurried over to catch up to him. But one thing still bothered her.   
  
"Your Majesty?" she spoke up, "If I may ask, what are we going to do about that gold winged girl?"   
  
"Leave her," Ren replied, "She isn't of any value to us after what had happened to the prince."   
  
Asaka nodded, not bothering to question her king any more. Both black winged king and knight walked through the tunnel until they were no longer in sight, leaving Misaki alone on the frozen lake. Her body collapsed again as the tears finally began to fall against her pink tinted cheeks.   
  
"Your High… ness… Your… Highne… Highness… Your… High…"   
  
She could barely let out her words as she cried. Her heart felt heavy, her breathing rough. Her prince, her friend, the boy she loved like a little brother was gone. And to think that the last time they exchanged words to each other was back at the library. If Ren's words were really true, then the prince was no doubt still alive and the thought of that was consoling. Even so, the guilt of being unable to protect him from this was too much for her to bear.   
  
"…Aichi…"


	6. Chapter 5: Not A Dream

Falling… falling… falling…   
  
He didn't know how long he was falling for or where he would land once he reached the bottom. All he knew was that he was falling from somewhere. Everything around him was dark save for the millions of glowing lights from a distance. Were they stars? Was he falling from a night sky? From space itself?   
  
Then he got a closer look at those glowing lights. It was faint but he noticed that these lights were red in colour. And as he continued to fall and was closer to the glowing lights he realized that they were balls of flame. He was luckily able to dodge the fireballs despite lacking the energy to move.   
  
He felt himself turning from falling upside down to right side up. The moment he did so, it seemed more like he was floating downward very slowly rather than actually falling. His entire body felt light, as if he were made of air itself. He looked down at his own hands, wondering if he had become some kind of spirit. This was indeed not the case as his entire body still appeared completely visible in front of him.   
  
After falling for a little while, his feet finally touched a flat surface, yet it didn't seem like he was standing on anything. It didn't even seem like he was standing on glass. The fireballs that had been floating in the air slowly started to disappear one by one until everything was dark. He was all alone in complete nothingness.   
  
And then, something began to glow in front of him. The light was so bright; he had to quickly shield his eyes from it. The light did eventually die down and he was able to see what it was.   
  
Standing before him appeared to be some kind of giant red stone twice as big as him. The shape of the stone reminded him of an egg yet it glittered like a gem. Was it a ruby? Getting a closer look at it, it was most definitely a ruby. But why was it here? More importantly, he noticed that it was still slightly glowing and he could swear that he could see something inside.   
  
But then, he heard a roar from a distance. He swiftly turned his gaze in the direction of the loud noise to see something coming right at him. With full control of his body again, he rushed out of the way as the creature charged forward. He managed to get a good look at the creature as soon as it landed.   
  
It was a gigantic dragon with shiny red scales and wings made of feathers the same shade. It stood up straight and tall in front of him; so majestic and proud. It seemed like it was coming after him, but then he realized that he was not what the dragon was focusing on. The creature walked past him and headed towards the ruby. It wrapped its body around the giant gem, cherishing it like a parent caring for its young. He continued to watch the dragon, while seemingly frightening at first; it appeared to be very gentle yet prideful.   
  
But its peace did not last.   
  
The dragon stared forward as its golden eyes narrowed, letting out a threatened growl. It wasted no time and, grabbing the ruby within its claws, it flew away. He could only stare and watch as the dragon disappeared into the darkness, but what caused it to leave? He turned around, getting his answer.   
  
From far away, hordes of what appeared to be winged people were heading towards him. But it did not take long for him to notice that these were not ordinary winged people. Many of them had their flesh slowly but surely decaying and the burnt feathers on their wings were easily shedding off. But that was not the worst of it; some of them didn't even have all their body parts, and some that did had them loosely hanging from their appropriate sockets. The sight could make anyone sick to their stomach. His eyes widened upon the realization. Were these winged people living corpses?   
  
The expressions of their faces frightened yet saddened him. These were the face of people who were completely enraged; seeking out vengeance against the one that did this to them. Did that mean that they were after the dragon?   
  
Or was it possible that they were after him?   
  
The undead winged people were moving in closer and closer. He tried to run yet he couldn't seem to move his feet. He was stuck in the middle of complete nothingness. With no other option left, he closed his eyes, ready for the impact…   
  
XxXxX   
  
Kai woke up with a startled yelp. He was staring straight up at the ceiling as he lay in bed; breathing in and out at a rapid pace, his heart pounding heavily against his chest like a drum. His body was heating up from the swirl of emotions he had just experienced, the movie that was his dreams still rolling through his mind.   
  
After a few minutes both his breathing and his heartbeat returned to normal. He let out a slight groan as he used all strength to turn his whole body on his side as he reached for his bedside table to grab his cell phone so he could check the time.   
  
23:50   
  
He didn't even get a full hour of sleep. He sighed. If this continued there would be no way he could ever sleep again. He looked out the window through the thin gap between the curtains. The night appeared to be calm with nice weather. Maybe a midnight stroll could help relax him. He got out of bed, out of his night clothes and into his usual casual wear. With himself properly dressed and with everything ready, he left his apartment; locking the door behind him.   
  
The brunet male had never walked around town at this time of night so the whole experience felt so unnatural to him. Everything was so quiet and still; there was neither a single person nor the presence of any vehicles roaming about. It wasn't very late though so most likely anyone that was still up was probably out partying. But of course that was not Kai.   
  
He continued walking until he reached his favourite place; the park. Kai already believed that it was a nice spot to relax, but being in the park at this time of night gave off a very serene feeling. A soft cool breeze blew all around, brushing through the trees and picking up small particles of sand from the sandbox. With the lack of people, the space felt bigger, as if this were another world.   
  
Deeper and deeper he went until he reached a lake at the back; the waxing crescent moon reflecting on the water. Kai pondered on the meaning of his dream. His dreams had usually been the same one every night, but surprisingly this one was different. The crimson flames, the dragon and the ruby, the undead winged beings; what did it all mean? Was this a sign of something coming?   
  
He let out a frustrated sigh. Why did these dreams bother him so much? There probably wasn't any real meaning to them. He already figured out that his dreams started after he read that Cloudlands book; they were probably just him imagining the scenes from the book. And the book itself is just a work of fiction so there's no reason for him to keep his mind fixated on it. On and on he kept telling himself that the Cloudlands is not real; that winged people are not real, that there's nothing in his dreams that should worry him like this. So then why couldn't he stop thinking about it, as if it was something important?   
  
And then it happened.   
  
Something began to glow in the water. It was tiny at first so Kai just assumed it was a light from nearby reflected in the water. But the glow grew and grew until it took up the entire lake; a vast mixture of colours flowing together as if part of a dance. The brunet male took some steps back, awestruck by the sight in front of him. Never before has anything like this happened, and honestly he was convinced that nothing like this could ever happen.   
  
The glow kept getting brighter until it seemed like it was floating out of the water. And sure enough, it was. The glow became what looked like a giant bubble slowly rising toward the surface and up into the air like a balloon. The thing that made it strange was that while the lake was definitely not shallow, it was certainly not deep enough for a bubble of that size to fit. Kai just kept staring, unsure of what was going on. Was he still dreaming? Was before just a dream inside of a dream? What kind of absurdity was he experiencing?   
  
But supposing this wasn't a dream; why wasn't he getting the hell away from there as fast as he could? He didn't even know what the bubble was. For all he knew, it could be something dangerous. But try as he might, he couldn't keep his eyes away from the sight before him. There was just something about it that struck him with wonder and curiosity. It was like with the book; something about this drew him in. And by standing there and watching, he could probably figure out just what it was.   
  
Like any other bubble, the glowing orb popped; slivers of light showering all over the park. The sudden burst caused Kai to bring his arms up to shield him out of reflex. When he figured it was safe and that there was no more, he lowered his arms back down.   
  
Little did he know that what he would see next would cause him to feel things he had never felt before.   
  
Floating at the same spot the bubble was was some kind of figure. A person? Kai's eyes widened when he looked closely. Gold wings; like the ones from his dreams, like the ones from the book. One had actually appeared before him. Now he knew for sure this had to be a dream.   
  
As if carried, the winged person was slowly lowered from floating above the lake and was gently placed on the steps nearby lying face down. Kai took a couple of steps back, as if the winged person was some kind of dangerous creature. He knew it was probably not the case but he needed to be careful out of caution. Before long the lake stopped glowing and everything appeared like it went back to the way it was if not for the unconscious figure on the ground.   
  
This was a dream. No doubt it was a dream. It couldn't be anything else but a dream. Kai kept telling himself that over and over, trying to believe it to be truth. However, it had the opposite effect. Rather than assuring him that this was all a dream, he found himself feeling less convinced. He closed his eyes, breathing slowly. Surely the moment he wakes up, he'll be back in his bed in his apartment and he would've had more than just an hour's rest.   
  
He opened his eyes. He was still in the park in front of the lake. The winged person was still lying there on the ground. Kai continued to stare in disbelief. How was this even possible? Did that mean… everything that just happened was real?   
  
There was only one way to find out and it wouldn't be by just standing around. Cautiously, he made his way over to the unconscious winged person, who was surprisingly still dry despite coming out from a lake, and knelt down next to it. He noticed its back rising then going back down so he knew for sure that it was still alive. Because he was still unsure of this being an actual winged person, he reached out his hand to touch the moderate sized gold wings. His fingers could barely touch them however, for just a tap from his fingertips caused the wings to swat his hands away. The unwanted intrusion of personal space made the winged person squirm a little bit while remaining asleep even after all that.   
  
It then occurred to Kai that he only had a proper good look on the winged person's back. Despite it facing him while it was still floating, the brightness on the glow made it hard to properly see details on the winged person's appearance. Trying to be careful not to make any sudden movements that could wake it up, Kai rolled the winged person over so it was lying on its back.   
  
Kai had some pictures in his mind of what he assumed winged people looked like in terms of face and body. From how they were described in the book Tsukiko gave him, they were the protectors of Earth that managed to seal the Void away into the Cloudlands. So surely they had the appearance of strong warriors. But this was not what he expected at all.   
  
Never before in his entire life had he ever seen anyone or anything look so beautiful.   
  
The brunet could not take his eyes off the marvel before him; long thick eyelashes on closed eyes, high cheekbones tinted a light rose colour, soft luscious lips like flower petals, short silky blue hair with a long bang draped on one side, creamy skin that glowed under the moonlight. All that with the gold wings made it seem like he was looking at a real angel. He brought the winged person closer to him, cradling it in his arms. Looking even closer, the sleeping figure was so very androgynous looking it was hard to tell if it was a boy or a girl. Or maybe it was possible that winged people were hermaphrodites. Whatever the case however, Kai was not going to touch some place inappropriate just to clear his suspicions, especially if the person in question was unconscious.   
  
A gust of wind blew through the park. The winged person, still asleep, snuggled closer to the brunet, trying to keep warm from the sudden chill.. One thing was certain for Kai; dream or not, it would really bother him if he left the winged being to sleep in the park on a chilly night like this, even if it was a summer night. He stood up from his spot and, holding the winged person in his arms like a princess, started walking back to his apartment.   
  
He had trouble opening the door with the winged person in his arms once he got back to his apartment, but he was eventually able to open it and walked in, closing the door behind him and locking it. As he walked towards the bed, a small thump could be heard behind him. Could he have dropped something? There wasn't anything in his possession aside from the sleeping winged being in his arms and his keys clenched tightly in his hand. Could it have been something belonging to the person in his arms?   
  
He slowly lowered the person in question onto the bed, making sure the latter was settled comfortably before making his way to the place where he heard the thump. He picked up the object and examined it. His teal eyes narrowed. Judging by the shape and texture, it appeared to be some kind of metal medallion with a carving and a stone. He brought it closer so he could get a better look at it. Was the carving of a dragon? And it was hard to see what kind of stone was in the middle in the dark, but from what he could tell it looked like some kind of red jewel, like a ruby.   
  
Kai's eyes widened as he let out a shocked yet silent gasp. A dragon and a ruby? That was exactly like what he saw in his dream. What did this mean? Did his dream predict this? No, that was impossible. How could dreams predict the future? But then how could he explain the coincidence of a medallion with a dragon and a ruby similar to the dragon and ruby from his dream?   
  
The brunet looked back at the bed where the winged being he found was sleeping peacefully. It had moved onto lying on its side; no doubt a more comfortable resting position with its wings to consider. What mysteries could it be hiding?   
  
He grabbed his cell phone and opened it to look at the time again. It was already fifteen minutes past midnight. He hadn't realized that it was that late already. Since his bed was occupied for the time being, Kai knew he had to look for another place to sleep. Placing the pendant on the desk near the bed, he knelt down beside the bed and reached his hands under it, pulling out a spare futon he kept in case Miwa wanted to sleep over. He was able to put the whole thing together even in the dark. Sometimes Kai felt like his eyes were what belonged to a more nocturnal creature, or at least something that could easily see well in the dark.   
  
Once the futon was all set up, he pulled the comforter over himself and went to sleep. Who knows; maybe all this really was just one big dream and the moment he wakes up he would be lying in his own bed and there would be no winged person around.   
  
So waking up to find out that it really wasn't a dream left him completely speechless.   
  
Here we was, waking from a decent sleep to find that he was sleeping in the spare futon he set out and the winged person from last night still asleep on the bed. He groaned as he scratched his head. How could this even be possible? But he reasoned with himself that there was no use placing logic into this. The fact that an actual winged person like that in the Cloudlands book appeared there before him and was currently sleeping in his bed was a fact that he could not deny. His skepticism also had limits. He figured he should make the best of it for now and wait for when the person in question wakes up.   
  
His stomach growled. He figured he should probably make some breakfast. He should probably make something for the winged person too once it wakes up. Taking a stretch the moment he stood up, he made himself walk over to the kitchen and put on the black apron that was hanging there. He debated on what type of breakfast he should make. Should he go for a traditional Japanese style breakfast? Or maybe a Western style breakfast?   
  
He checked the fridge and the cupboards. There was not a lot there. He would have to remember to get groceries later. Opening one of the cupboards he noticed a box of pancake mix. It had been a while since he had pancakes. And there would definitely be enough for both him and his unintended guest. Not to mention that he still had some maple syrup and butter. It was decided; he would make pancakes.   
  
Kai began cooking, carefully pouring the right amount of batter so they would all be about the same size in the pan. He then picked up the box the pancake mix was in and examined the instructions, making sure he didn't make any screwups while cooking it. Once he got an idea of what to do, he placed the pan over the stove and turned it on. The scent of the batter cooking at a nice temperature wafted through the whole apartment.   
  
Little did he realize that his guest was finally beginning to wake up.   
  
Aichi groaned as he tried to sit up and stretch; his body feeling stiff for some unknown reason. He began to rub his eyes, trying to get the remaining sleep out. Only once he was fully awake did he realize that he was not back at the palace.   
  
He was in some kind of closed in space with grey walls and few, unusual looking furnishings, sitting in a bed with a maroon coloured comforter and pillow. How did he come to be here? He brought his hand to his forehead, trying to recollect everything that happened. It was then that the smell of something cooking came to his senses. What was it? Whatever it was it smelled good. He got off from the bed and took careful steps over to where the smell was coming from.   
  
Cerulean hues met teal as Aichi laid sight on a cold, frightening face scowling at him. He let out a shriek as his instincts took control of him. He ran to the closest thing he saw that could help him get away, which was a door not that far from him, and rushed inside, slamming the door behind him.   
  
Kai just stood there in confusion as he saw the winged being run into the bathroom. He had just finished flipping the pancakes over after a certain amount of time had passed when he heard his guest waking up, only to find the latter dashing away from him as fast as it could upon eye contact. He didn't even know what he did to scare it. He walked out of the kitchen for a bit and over to the bathroom door, giving it a slight knock. A little squeak could be heard from the other side, but there was no other response aside from that.   
  
He knocked on the door again; a little more forceful this time but hopefully not enough to spook the winged person more. There was no response this time. He decided to try to open the door to see if it was alright. However, the handle decided it did not want to budge. Something told him that the winged being did not want him around. It reminded him of a stray picked up from the streets that wanted to keep its distance from people, even from the person who saved it.   
  
'I have picked up a stray though,' mused Kai, ' A stray canary.'   
  
Deciding it best to leave it alone, Kai went back to the kitchen, making sure the pancakes hadn't gotten burnt. He was glad to see it wasn't the case as the pancakes turned out to be a nice, golden brown. He scooped the pancakes off the pan and put them on a plate he had already prepared.   
  
Meanwhile, Aichi had been sitting in front of the door in the bathroom the entire time. He had been pondering about where he was. How did he come to be here? And where was 'here'? The sudden shock made it hard to remember. Not to mention the fear he felt upon feeling that cold gaze upon him. It caught him completely off guard that he didn't have a good look of the owner of that gaze.   
  
He heard another knock on the door. The blue haired boy curled up into a ball, his entire body trembling. He was too scared and nervous to open the door. But he worried that maybe whatever it was knocking would try to force its way in.   
  
But nothing happened. There was only a couple of minutes of silence after the knock. He then heard the sound of something being put on the floor followed by the creaking of footsteps walking away. Curious as to what happened, Aichi slowly opened the door and looked out. He didn't see anyone there though he noticed a plate with something he had never seen before on it; a strange looking cake like food with brown transparent goo and a yellowish white substance that looked like melted butter. Not wanting to leave the door open for too long, he grabbed the plate and closed the door again.   
  
He examined the plate a little more closely. This was some unusual looking food. Why would this be placed there outside the door? Was it for Aichi? Was he expected to eat this? He had to admit it looked tempting to try. His mouth was watering just by looking at it. But what if it was poisoned? Could he take the risk?   
  
His stomach growled. He had been so scared he forgot that he was hungry. Plus, the smell from the food wasn't making it any better. Thinking about it, this was the scent he smelled the moment he woke up. It made it even harder to resist. Deciding to take the plunge, he grabbed the fork and knife that rested on the plate and dug right in.   
  
Cerulean eyes widened the moment a piece went into his mouth. The cake like food was very soft and warm yet chewy. Not only that but the brown goo made it taste sweeter, leaving his body tingling from the sensation. He let out a very satisfied hum as he continued eating. He seemed to be eating too fast though, causing him to almost choke on his food. He started eating a little slower.   
  
He had gotten through half of his breakfast when he felt his throat getting a bit dry. He had to admit that it would be nice to have a drink to go with this delicious breakfast. As if on cue, he heard footsteps walking over to the door and putting something down before walking away. Aichi carefully opened the door and just like before, something was put there for him. Sitting there was a glass filled with an yellowy orange liquid. He picked it up and like before, examined it. He wasn't sure if it was poisoned or not though if the person who kept leaving these things for him really intended to poison him, the best opportunity would've been last time. Feeling a little more sure this time, he took a sip.   
  
The drink was also really good. It tasted like fruit and felt so cool and refreshing it could easily run through his throat. He gulped the entire thing down; letting out a content sigh once he was done. He had always had the best food and drink provided for him his entire life, but never before had he had a breakfast like this.   
  
And then he felt a little woozy, but not because the food was poisoned. Rather, he was feeling guilty. Here he was hiding in what no doubt looked like a bathroom when whoever was outside brought him back here safely and went to the trouble of making him breakfast. Granted one would be nervous in an unfamiliar environment; it is something that all living things would feel in this situation. So it wasn't like Aichi was entirely in the wrong. And no doubt whoever was outside knew this too. That was probably why they didn't try to force their way in and instead gave him some space. That didn't mean he could be completely rude when someone was trying to show hospitality, even if it was actually a trap.   
  
Aichi knew that he could always be a little too kind and trusting. He didn't consider this a bad thing though. He just simply believed there was good in a lot of people, even if they don't show it the same way most people do. Still, it was part of his naivete to show kindness to everyone he met, whether they deserved it or not. And he was going to do just that. He took the time he used to finish his breakfast to build up the confidence to stand up and confront whoever was outside.   
  
Besides, he needed to return the dishes.   
  
Taking a deep breath, he slowly opened the door and took a peek outside. There was someone sitting near a small table near the end of the bed Aichi woke up from, eating the same food the blue haired boy had been eating. He examined them closely. It appeared to be a young man almost around the same age as Aichi if not a little older; messy brown hair spiked up on his left side. He was dressed in a long sleeved burgundy shirt and grey pants despite the warm temperature. But what caught Aichi's attention was the fact that he had no wings. Why was that?   
  
Just as he was pondering about it, cerulean eyes met teal once again. Aichi let out a little squeak and then instantly hid back in the bathroom again. He couldn't believe he was doing it again. Didn't he just convince himself to be more confident toward his host? He kept telling himself over and over again that there was nothing to be so nervous about and just go. Dishes in hand, he took another deep breath and stepped out of the bathroom, walking over to the person outside.   
  
He took small, cautionary steps as he walked over. His host apparently went back to eating when the blue haired boy hid in the bathroom once again. The moment Aichi finally reached him, the person in front of him had finished eating. He looked up at Aichi; his teal eyes still appearing cold and unwelcoming. Aichi was unsure of what to do next. He had managed to walk over to him; now what? What should he do? What should he say? He was completely frozen in place, his body trembling from nervousness. He tried to speak but his voice would not come out. A part of him wanted to retreat back into the bathroom but what would that accomplish? He felt ashamed of himself.   
  
Kai eyed the winged person in front of him. It was good that it finally decided to step out though he could still see that it was still feeling very tense around him. Understandable; he didn't think it would be able to get comfortable of its surroundings in such a short time span. He then directed his attention to what the winged being was holding. It was dishes that had contained his guest's portion of pancakes and orange juice. Though it didn't show on his face, he was pleased that the winged being finished it all. He stood up and held out his hand, causing the winged person to unfreeze and take a step back.   
  
Aichi continued to stare at the person in front of him. He didn't know why the brunet raised his hand like that. Did he want something? He then noticed teal hues glancing downward before looking back at him. The blue haired boy looked down to where the brown haired male was looking at and remembered the dishes. He blushed. He had completely forgotten about them. This was certainly embarrassing, at least from his point of view. Avoiding eye contact, he gave the brunet his dishes; the latter grabbing his plate from the table and headed to the kitchen.   
  
The blue haired boy followed and watched curiously as the brunet placed the dirty dishes on a countertop beside the sink and began cleaning them one by one. Observing him carefully as he scrubbed the plates thoroughly made Aichi realize that he really wasn't as scary as he initially thought. Rather, he had this serious air around him. Plus, Aichi wasn't sure but it kind of felt like the brunet was feeling just as awkward as he was. It made the blue haired male feel a little more at ease.   
  
Kai continued scrubbing the dishes, making sure they were perfectly clean, when he noticed that the winged being was still staring at him. Their eyes made contact again, snapping the winged being out of whatever kind of daze it was in and averted its gaze so it was no longer looking at the brunet. Did it need something? He was not sure. If it did need something then why wasn't it speaking up? He decided to ignore it for now and continued cleaning. As much as he needed answers, he would rather wait until it wanted to speak on its own.   
  
As for Aichi himself, he felt really embarrassed. He had no idea that he had been staring the entire time. There was just something about the brunet that drew him in, though he did not know what. However, he knew that it was impolite to stare, especially since the brunet had been doing so much to make him feel comfortable here.   
  
And then he realized that there was a question still weighing on his mind; where was 'here?' Everything around him was very unusual; very foreign, even for winged people standards. He gulped inaudibly before taking a deep breath. But just as he was about to speak, what came out instead was a tiny squeak. The brunet male turned his attention back to the blue haired male; raising an eyebrow to the sound.   
  
Aichi's entire face turned scarlet. He wanted to hide so badly after constantly embarrassing himself. He knew he couldn't though. What good would it do hiding away again? He needed those answers and he needed to get them now. Feeling a little calmer, he cleared his throat and looked straight into those sharp teal eyes.   
  
"Excuse me, but would you please be so kind to tell me where we are?" he asked, making sure his voice sounded sure and confident. He couldn't give off the impression that he was a nervous wreck, despite already failing regardless.   
  
But the brunet just kept staring at him. Why was he keeping silent like that? Was he not a talkative person? No, even people who don't talk much could still give answers. Maybe his initial thought was true after all and he was holding him hostage. Do kidnappers even treat their hostages nicely? Or maybe the brunet couldn't speak at all. Aichi decided to keep talking, hoping it would lead to something.   
  
He pondered for a bit on what to talk about before something came to mind. "I really like your house," he began, "It's very… unique. A-a good unique! Definitely a really cozy place. I've never seen places designed like this." He gave a sheepish smile. He couldn't believe how much he was rambling about a house.   
  
Unfortunately though, the brunet didn't even stir. Rather, his facial expression implied he looked more confused if anything. Aichi tilted his head to the side, also feeling confused. Was there something wrong? Why was nothing he said getting any form of response minus confusion? He didn't think it would be very hard to communicate with someone like this.   
  
Not long did Kai's confusion turn into irritation. "You do realize I have no idea what you're saying, right?" he asked the blue haired creature in front of him, though he knew he would get no proper response. Just his luck. It never occurred to him that there could possibly be a language barrier between them. He couldn't even tell what language it was supposed to be.   
  
Hearing the brunet speak made Aichi realize the language barrier as well. A dejected sigh escaped his lips as he brought his hand toward the other arm and held it close to him. What could he do now? He was in an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar person who spoke an unfamiliar language but was kind enough to feed him even though the food itself was also unfamiliar. And since the brunet couldn't tell what the blue haired boy was saying either, neither of them could communicate and figure out what was going on. If the brunet were an animal then Aichi would have no problem communicating with him given his past experiences. But would it be possible to use that same power so he could communicate to the person in front of him?   
  
A strange feeling ran through Aichi's entire body. It was almost like the feeling he had when he encountered the red dragon and Ren. Was the Void here? No, something was different. He saw no form of dark aura. Instead, it felt like pieces of knowledge were pouring into his head. It didn't hurt but it felt like his head was throbbing. He could do nothing but stand there as he was staring at the brunet.   
  
Kai was caught off guard upon seeing the winged being's eyes start glowing. He didn't know what was going on and kept his distance in case something were to happen. Between last night and right now he began to wonder if the person in front of him had a thing for light shows or something like that considering the circumstances.   
  
It didn't take long before the feeling had left Aichi and his eyes were no longer glowing. He noticed the brunet's stare as the latter stood in a position in which he could protect himself. Aichi didn't know what he could have happened to make his host stand like that. Did it involve whatever had happened to the blue haired male?   
  
"What's wrong?" Aichi asked out of habit, completely forgetting about the language barrier between the two of them.   
  
The brunet male tried to appear calm but it was hard for him to hide the surprise on his face upon hearing the winged being speak. "Did you just…?!"   
  
It was Aichi's turn to be surprised. Did he hear what he thought he heard? Could he actually hear words he could understand coming from the man in front of him? Not only that, but did he seem to respond to what Aichi had said? He needed to confirm this.   
  
"Can you understand me?" he asked; his eyes keeping contact with the teal eyes across from him.   
  
Kai couldn't believe it. So the winged being could speak after all! Well, speak a language he could understand. It was weird though. A few minutes ago the blue haired child looked like it had trouble understanding him just as much as he had to understand it. But then after its eyes start to glow does it have the ability to speak in the same language as him. Unable to let out any words due to the shock, he just gave a simple nod.   
  
Aichi also became silent after the confirmation. He should be feeling happy that he could now communicate with someone and figure out what was going on. Instead, he was rather distressed. With every little thing that goes on, he is bombarded with more and more questions. Was the fact he could now understand the brunet be another part of his 'power?' What more mysteries were there he had yet to figure out?   
  
But now was not the time. There were more important stuff he needed to learn right now. Building up confidence once again, Aichi began to speak up once again.   
  
"Um…" he began, "First of all, I'd like to thank you. Y-You know, for the food. It was really good! I've literally never had anything like it before!"   
  
The brunet only hummed, assuring the blue haired boy that he understood what he was saying but had no proper response to give him. Aichi had to admit that he had never really met someone like the brunet. Granted, it didn't help that he had barely left the palace without having to sneak off. Even so, many of the people he had met appeared more sociable than the man in front of him.   
  
Aichi continued to speak. "A-Anyways… I haven't actually introduced myself, have I? I apologize; it's very rude of me. My name is Aichi. If… it isn't too much trouble, may I possibly know your name?" The other male looked at him with one eyebrow raised, causing the blue haired male to be flustered. "J-Just because I would like to know the name of the person who has been so kind to me! That's all!"   
  
There was only silence. Aichi couldn't help but feel awkward. Was it really that bad to know his name? He always thought the gesture to introduce yourself to someone you helped or helped you, even if there was a possibility that you might never meet again, was simply harmless. Well, there was no point forcing the brunet if he really didn't want to.   
  
"...Kai."   
  
The blue haired boy looked back at the other male in confusion. "I'm sorry?"   
  
"Didn't you just ask for my name?" the brunet crossed his arms.   
  
Aichi felt like an idiot. Of course that would be his name. Forcing the blunder aside, he let the name sink into his mind. "Kai…" That was a really nice name. Aichi couldn't contain the smile that was slowly forming on his face. He didn't know why he was smiling; he just was, like something about that name just made him feel content.   
  
Kai stared at the blue haired winged being that had suddenly started smiling. Having properly heard it speak, he reached the conclusion that this 'Aichi' might be male. But even then, he was barely able to make that assumption. Everything about the winged boy was androgynous, right down to the voice. He was truly something Kai had never seen before in his entire life. And yet… there was this feeling of familiarity, like he had met someone like the blue haired male before.   
  
The winged male out of habit brought his hand close to his chest, clenching his shirt. He then felt that something was off. His hand started patting all around his upper chest and collarbone when he realized what was wrong. Cerulean eyes widened in panic. He continued to feel around, hoping what he was searching for was still there but he couldn't feel anything. There was no doubt that it was gone.   
  
"My… My pendant…" Aichi was barely able to let his words out. He was too concerned about where his most precious item was. If he had truly lost it, he wouldn't know what to do.   
  
"On the desk," said Kai, pointing on his left toward the desk beside the bed. The next thing he knew, Aichi had already dashed over to the desk and picked the medallion up, holding it close to him. With it back in his possession, the winged male was able to relax once again. He took a look at it. At first he thought that Kai tried to steal it from him, but then why would he tell him where it was? And wouldn't it be better hidden? He looked a little closer to realize that the chain was broken. It was a pretty rusty chain and Aichi had been in situations that might've tired the metal out, especially recently. He was glad though that it didn't get lost somewhere.   
  
It reminded Kai that he needed to learn something about that pendant and why he saw images similar to it in his dream. He figured that maybe Aichi would know something, considering it not only belonged to him, but seemed to treasure it for one reason or another. But the moment their eyes met once again, he knew that his questions would have to wait.   
  
"I've been meaning to ask," Aichi began, "But where are we?"   
  
"My apartment," Kai responded nonchalantly as he stepped out of the kitchen and leaned his back against the wall, his arms still crossed.   
  
The blue haired male brought his finger to his chin as he pondered. "I've never heard of anything called an 'apartment' in the Cloudlands before."   
  
"That's because this isn't the Cloudlands; this is Earth."   
  
Cerulean eyes widened. "Earth?! This is… Earth?!" He held the pendant tighter against him. He then realized something. "Are you… a human?"   
  
The brunet raised an eyebrow. "What kind of question is that?"   
  
"I-It's just…!" Aichi started to fidget. "I've never seen a human before. A-And I've r-read that humans don't look much different from winged beings aside from the obvious. I didn't realize just how exactly similar we look."   
  
"But how do I know you are who you say you are?" Kai questioned the winged being. He still had to show some form of disbelief. "For all I know, your wings are animatronic."   
  
Aichi tilted his head to the side in confusion. "A-Animal… tonic?"   
  
"That they're robotic."   
  
Still more confusion.   
  
Kai sighed. "That they're not real."   
  
The winged being smiled, finally getting the point. It was a small simple smile. "But they are real." He let his wings flap a bit to prove his point. "And I can fly too! If we find a place with more room, I'd be happy to show you!"   
  
The human male shook his head. "I'm good."   
  
Aichi's smile disappeared into a frown once again. "But how did I ever get here to Earth anyways?"   
  
"How the hell should I know?" said the brunet, "When I found you, you came out of a lake in a bubble."   
  
"...A lake…?" Memories came flooding back. He remembered now. He was confronted by Ren in a mysterious cavern with a lake to join the Void. The black winged king even went so far as to hold Misaki's life hostage to get his way. Aichi had been unsure of what to do and ended up falling in the lake. When he tried to swim out he couldn't because the currents were pulling him deeper down.   
  
Something then occurred to him. He had read something about a lake that served as a portal between Earth and the Cloudlands. Its location was kept unknown to most in fear of its power being abused. After all, the entire purpose of creating the Cloudlands was so the winged people would stay and fight to keep the Void at bay from destroying Earth. Its use was to be for emergencies only. Since it required some strong magic to create it, it blocks out anything that is connected to the Void. It is a relief since that means Ren can't use it himself.   
  
But then he remembered something else about the lake; something very important. Aichi stood there like a statue, feeling like time had just stopped for him. His body began to tremble. He was in so much of a state of shock he hadn't realized that the pendant fell out of his hands. Unable to stand any longer, he sat down on the closest piece of furniture, which was the bed.   
  
Kai was unsure of what was going on. He noticed the distressed look on the winged being's face. Was there something bad about the lake he mentioned? He got up off the wall and walked over towards the bed, hovering over the blue haired male. He asked what was wrong.   
  
"That lake is a portal created by the most powerful of magics," Aichi spoke, not making eye contact with the brunet, "It is the gateway between both our worlds. However, because of how powerful it is, it needs time before it can be used again." He hid his face in his hands, and his voice started to waver. "It'll take a while before I can go back."   
  
The human male narrowed his eyes. He had a bad feeling about this. He would probably regret asking, but something deep within him felt like he needed to know. "How long is 'a while'?"   
  
Aichi slowly brought his head out of his hands and looked up at Kai. The brunet could see the fear in those cerulean eyes; glassy orbs which looked like they would be consumed in tears at any moment. To Kai, it looked like he was gazing into the face of a lost little kitten, which considering the situation wasn't very far off. The moment he told Kai the answer, it made Aichi realize the reality of his situation. It frightened him to know that he was unaware of what could be happening this very moment. Was Ren out planning something? Was Misaki safe? Could something be happening to the kingdom of the Gold Winged Clan during his absence?   
  
He wanted to believe that this was all one big nightmare; that the moment he would wake up he would be back in his comfy bed, that Emi would scold him for sleeping in, that his mother in her beautiful, gentle voice would say good morning to him. Misaki will also be there safe and sound, and he would apologize for what he said back in the library. But maybe that too was part of the dream. In that case, there would be nothing to worry about at all! He and Misaki would be on good terms again. And he would see the faces of everyone all smiling. Naoki, Kamui, Shingo; they would all be happy to see him. Everything would be the way it always was.   
  
But it was not a dream. The pain on his bottom lip and the blood he tasted from biting it too hard were real. He clenched his eyes shut, feeling them sting. Warm droplets rolled down from his eyes, tickling his reddened cheeks. His heart felt heavy and his body was trembling like crazy. It was hard for him to accept the truth of his situation; the truth that he was stuck on Earth for…   
  
"A whole month."   
  



	7. Chapter 6: Earth

Silence filled the air in the apartment as Kai was sitting at his desk, reading a random book he pulled from the small bookshelf beside it. It was a book he had ever since he was a little kid containing a collection of various fairy tales. Many classics were there; Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, The Frog Prince, Hansel and Gretel, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Six Swans, and lots more. The story he was on was The Elves and the Shoemaker, though he wasn't really that focused on it. Rather, his attention constantly shifted between the book and his unexpected guest.

Aichi had been sitting on the bed, staring through the window for what seemed like an hour. Since the chain was still broken, he couldn't put the pendant back around his neck, so he just held it in his hands. It really hit him hard that he was trapped on Earth for a month. Then again who wouldn't get all emotional when they find out they're trapped in unfamiliar territory? And the possibilities of what could happen to everyone he cared about; that was what hit him the hardest. A crestfallen sigh escaped his lips. What could he do now?

Kai let out a sigh of his own as he closed the book and put it down. He looked over to the winged being. "Hey," he spoke up, spooking the blue haired boy slightly, "Sitting around and moping isn't going to make a month come quicker."

Cerulean eyes gazed over at the brunet, who was putting away the reading glasses he was wearing. "What else should I do?"

"I don't know," Kai responded honestly, rubbing his temple, "I just know that what you're doing isn't the answer."

The blue haired male lowered his head and looked away. "...I guess…" No, he didn't guess; he knew Kai was right. He shouldn't be acting like this. Rather, he needed to occupy his mind with other things to pass the time until a month had finally passed. The problem though was that he didn't know what he should do. He figured he might eventually find something though; something that wasn't sulking.

He got up from his seat, which alerted Kai. He turned to the man who had treated him with so much hospitality and bowed. "Thank you for all you have done for me," said the winged being, "You have been most kind. However, I should probably get going."

Kai stared at the boy surprised as he watched him walk around the bed and toward the hall. He stood up. "Where will you go?"

Aichi shook his head. "I have no idea. This is my first time on Earth so I don't know how everything is here." He looked back at the human and gave a small smile. "But don't worry; I'm sure I'll be fine."

That didn't really sound convincing to Kai. But he really didn't need to be bothered by it anymore, right? The winged being would be out of his hair and he could forget that this all ever happened. However for some reason, he just didn't have the heart to ignore all of this. He knew that he didn't really need to care all that much but he did. There was just something within him that worried about the winged being.

And it was no wonder. Obviously the boy wouldn't have had any friends staying here on Earth. And he doubted he had money to stay at a hotel, let alone enough to last for a whole month. Not to mention his wings would be too conspicuous. What if someone kidnapped him and sold him to be a sideshow attraction? Would his conscience really allow that?

He let out a long sigh. "...Wait."

The blue haired boy had already reached the door and was about to open it when he heard the human call out to him. He turned around and looked straight at the brunet, giving full attention as he stared at those sharp teal eyes.

Trying to avoid eye contact as he ran his hand through his hair, Kai began to speak. "It's alright for you to… stay here… until the portal is open again."

Aichi's eyes widened. He violently shook his head. "No, I couldn't! I've caused you so much trouble already! I can't-!"

"You don't really have any other options now, do you?"

"N-No, I don't. But still-!"

"Just accept the damn offer, alright?"

The winged boy knew he was left with no other alternative. He really didn't want to burden the human with his troubles any longer but what else could he do? They both knew he wouldn't be able to take care of himself out there alone. He didn't comply but he didn't argue either. He just let out a defeated sigh.

Kai continued. "Besides, it wouldn't really be a good idea for you to be walking out in the open in plain daylight."

That left Aichi confused. "Why not?"

Did he seriously just ask that? Did he lack the common sense to realize what would happen in his situation? "If you have forgotten, there's one defining feature that separates you from humans." He pointed at the other's gold wings.

Understanding now what Kai meant, the blue haired boy simply grinned; cerulean eyes sparkling in a satisfying manner. "That won't be any trouble at all! Even I would know it wouldn't be safe to walk around the way I am now."

The human male was confused. If the winged being knew that it was not safe to walk around, why was he willing to leave even if it put himself at risk? Was he stupidly confident? He highly doubted it with how the latter acted earlier this morning.

Sensing the other's confusion, Aichi continued. "It's a very rare occurrence, but there is always a possibility for a winged being to be sent to Earth. In the event that someone goes to Earth, they learn some skills to help survive down here. And one of them is a way to hide my wings."

Now it was starting to sound crazy. There was no way Kai could believe that a winged being can easily hide their wings. While they weren't big, they definitely weren't very small either. They were a good enough size to lift a whole body. There was no way they could just hide under clothes, so then how was such a feat possible? He asked Aichi.

"It's very simple," Aichi replied gleefully, "From what I've learned, the bone structure in our wings is actually a lot more flexible than we think. In addition, our bodies are 5% magic, which is the reason why we are capable of casting magic unlike humans. So we combine the flexible bone structure of our wings with a little bit of magic. The magic helps the bones become softer, not only to make it appear smaller, but also to make it easier to slip with the skin. It also affects the feathers too as it-!"

"Your point?" Kai rudely interrupted. It was clear he didn't care for the details; he just wanted to know exactly how one could hide their wings.

Aichi frowned. He didn't realize that the human male was annoyed by his explanation. He knew he would have to try to sum it up in one sentence. "I can retract my wings inside my body, giving me the perfect guise of a human."

He pushed the brunet out of the hallway, motioning for the other male to stay close to the bed while the blue haired male himself walked over to a big empty space in the middle of the room. "Please stay over there. It's my first time doing this and I don't know what could happen. Even if I look like I'm in pain; I hear that's pretty common when you have never done this before or haven't done so in a while."

It went quiet. Kai just watched as Aichi stood perfectly still in complete concentration. He didn't know why that was required. Was he trying to recollect everything he had to do before casting the spell. Did he have to recite the incantation silently in his head? He then noticed the blue haired boy's expression begin to change. His eyebrows furrowed and a slight whimper escaped his lips. He was probably feeling the change.

The brunet did find himself to notice that the other's gold wings appeared to be shrinking. Cracking noises could be heard as they shifted and bended in ways Kai didn't believe were possible. Aichi's expression changed from one of discomfort to one in a lot of pain. The tiny whimpers that he had been letting out until now had crescendoed into ear piercing screams. Kai could only just stand there, keeping his word to stay put, though he wasn't sure how much longer he could take before his feet would start moving on their own and dash over to him.

But before he could do so, Aichi's screams began to die down until they had completely stopped; heaving and gasping now that the pain was gone. His legs, which were wobbly during the whole thing, finally gave out and he lost his balance. He was about to crash face first into the wooden floor when his head fell against a broad shoulder, hands bigger than his own resting on his upper arms.

Aichi looked up to see that Kai had caught him. The human male was probably worried about him. With a sincere smile, he assured the other male that he was fine, though his voice was hoarse after screaming in pain like that.

However it wasn't without payoff. Indeed after whatever it was Aichi did, his wings had now disappeared. There weren't even any unusual bumps around his shoulder blades where the wings would be positioned on his body. It no longer seemed like he was looking at a winged being from another world anymore, but instead another regular human boy, albeit a very radiant looking one, dressed in what people would assume to be fantasy cosplay. If Kai hadn't seen the transformation with his own eyes, he would've considered the idea to be utterly ridiculous.

Feeling confident that he wasn't going to fall over, Aichi lightly pushed himself off of Kai and tried to stand again. But once he got on his feet without any support from the brunet, he started falling backwards. Just as quickly as he let go, Kai caught the blue haired male again. Aichi sheepishly grinned. He apologized once again.

"I guess my balance is a little off because the weight of my wings is gone," he explained, "I'm gonna have to get used to adjusting it so I can walk properly even without that extra weight."

It was then that they noticed the position they were in. Kai was holding Aichi's wrist with one hand while his other hand rested on the small of the latter's back. There was barely any distance between them and they were in complete eye contact with each other, making the pose appear more intimate, like a gentleman holding his lover. Aichi's entire face turned cherry red right up to his ears.

"Y-Y-You can l-l-l-l-let go now," the blue haired boy stuttered, "I-I-I'm fine now!"

Kai had been completely expressionless the entire time, but his face had also turned red. There was even some awkwardness in his movements as he helped Aichi properly stand once more. Once he was sure the other male could stand on his own without support, he made his way over to the kitchen. He figured he could take his mind off that by making them some lunch. As he scavenged through the fridge and cupboards, one thing was certain.

"We're going to have to go shopping."

XxXxX

Deep beyond a dark forest surrounded by mists of miasma, under a pitch black sky with lightning streaking down, was a castle on top of tall cliffs. The outside of the castle was made of dark grey bricks that stood strong even under severe weather conditions. The interior however had a gloomy atmosphere to it, with a cold and dreary air filling up the entire place. This unwelcoming vibe was surely not something one would have the comfort in living in.

But to the kingdom of the Black Winged Clan, this was home.

Ren sat on his throne, deep in his thoughts. As to what those thoughts were, no one knew. The king had an air of mystery around him; an aura of unpredictability. If anyone felt like they managed to figure him out, he would end up surprising them with something they were truly unaware of. Then they would try to analyze him again.

His concentration was shattered the moment he heard loud creaking of the door and footsteps echoing throughout the room as Tetsu appeared before his king.

"Did you manage to search there?" the crimson haired ruler questioned his general.

Tetsu bowed before the king. "Yes, Your Majesty," he replied, "Once the knights of the Gold Winged Clan left the ruins, we checked the basement, avoiding the traps of course."

"And what did you find?"

"There was not much; barely any different from the rest of the castle. It does beg the question why there were traps in the first place."

"It is indeed unusual," he murmured, "I'll probably need to see for myself tomorrow…"

The raven haired general stood back up. "Pardon my curiosity, but what is it that you are searching so desperately for?"

Crimson cat like eyes glanced back at the general. "The very thing that may determine the fate of the Cloudlands; 'the tool.'"

Shock blanketed Tetsu's entire visage. "As in the very thing that caused the Red Winged Clan's destruction?" Ren did not answer. Tetsu continued. "Your Majesty, what will you do once you find it?"

"...What indeed…"

Silence filled the air. A sigh escaped the general's lips. "I only wish that you don't do anything reckless Your Majesty."

"Who is to say what I will do and what I will not do?" the king mused, "'The tool' is a complete mystery to me. I don't know what it looks like, how powerful it is, who may have possession of it if at all, if it will bring destruction to the Void or to the Cloudlands; I don't even know if it's _in_ the Cloudlands anymore. The only thing I do know is that its very existence has the Void on edge. Why do you think its actions have grown more restless? I'm just curious on what is so special about something created by the Red Winged Clan that would cause the Void to become this way."

With all said and done, Ren dismissed Tetsu. The general gave one last bow before he left. The king let out a long dejected sigh as he rest his elbow against the armrest of his throne, propping his head up as he continued his train of thought. It was not only 'the tool' that he was interested in. He was also interested in the prince of the Gold Winged Clan and his powers that were so similar to his own. He couldn't dismiss the whole thing as a coincidence. They were both given these powers for a reason. He needed to have the gold winged prince by his side; to combine their powers together. But it was impossible if the prince was on Earth.

"You are troubled, Your Majesty?"

Ren broke out of his thought to see Asaka standing in the shadows. She strode over to the king; an expression full of mischief masking her beautiful face. The crimson haired male was unsure why she was here, considering he didn't give her any orders at the moment. What could she want?

The navy haired girl giggled as she felt those cat like eyes she desired gaze all over her entire being. Her body tingled in excitement. She loved getting the king's attention. Once she reached the throne, she sat on the throne armrest; closing the distance between her and her master.

"Judging by your expression, I'm guessing you still have that little prince of the Gold Winged Clan in your mind," she came to her conclusion aloud, "It is absolutely dreadful that we didn't have the chance to grab him right then and there and that he fell into the portal to Earth."

"There is no need to obsess over it," the king assured the female knight, "The portal will open again in a month and we will be ready for when he returns."

Asaka sighed. "Indeed, Your Majesty. But how are you so sure he will return by a month?"

"He will. He does have a kingdom to protect after all. He will no doubt plan to return here as quickly as possible."

"But surely the knights will also be waiting for his return. They could wait by the portal as well."

Ren chuckled. "You are thinking too much, Asaka," He stood up and began pacing around the room. "The portal is in a secretive location. While its existence is known through all of the Cloudlands, very people are aware of its location. I myself had only come across it by chance a couple years back. If my memory serves, only the higher ups of the Silver Winged Clan should know the portal's location and its leader is so stubborn he wouldn't dare give out the location so easily no matter what. The gold winged knights may have discovered the location by going after their prince; for whom I may add also came across it by chance, but no doubt the shock of their prince's predicament would make it harder for them to memorize the important factor of where the portal is."

The female knight got off the armrest. "This may be the case if we were dealing with any normal idiot knight, but there is a knight who would remember the location no matter how traumatizing the event."

Silence filled the air as the crimson haired king stopped walking around, frozen like a statue. After a few moments of standing there, he slowly turned so that Asaka was in his line of vision, then walked over to her; every step reflecting his unpleased attitude. He walked until there was barely any space between them and he stared down at her, emphasizing how much taller he was compared to her, giving off an intimidating air.

"Explain," was all he said.

Asaka stared up at the face of the man that controlled her. His charming features still made her heart beat despite the fact that he was glaring down on her. This was the man she would do anything for. She would even take her own life if he demanded it so. She kept these emotions bottled up as she gave her reasoning.

"Do you remember that girl we held hostage back at the portal?" she began, "That girl was the Gold Winged Clan's captain of the knights. From what I had discovered upon investigating, her best quality is her perfect memory. Nothing could make her forget anything."

A glove covered hand made its way around Asaka's slender neck and held on tightly, choking her. The king brought his face closer to hers; crimson eyes lit with a dark, angered flame. No doubt about it he was not pleased to hear that, for it was troubling for him since that made the gold winged prince farther out of his reach.

"Why didn't you tell me this back at the portal?" he snarled.

Asaka could barely respond. "I… I didn't know… I… just… found out… my...self…"

That answer did not please Ren. He tightened his grip. "If you had told me this earlier, we could've kept the girl captive so it would've been easier to get the prince. If the portal wasn't already closed off, I would've thrown you to Earth just like I did the others."

Just then, he was hit with realization. It was very risky, but at his current situation he knew there was no other alternative. He let go of Asaka, causing her to fall to her knees, trying to regain her breath. She could still feel the heat of the king's hand around her throat, enough that there probably would be red marks left where he held her. She looked up at where her master was once her breathing was back to normal as she noticed he was heading out of the throne room. Not wanting to be left behind, she got up on her feet and rushed over, trying to catch up to him.

She followed the king all the way down the hall and up cold stone steps that led to the tallest tower in the castle. They reached the top of the tower, to a room that was bare with the exception of an old, rickety wooden table, a lit candle, and what looked like a crystal ball. The female knight was confused. What was here that may help in getting the prince?

Sensing Asaka's confusion, Ren walked over to the table and began to explain. "You wouldn't know this, Asaka, since this is a spell I rarely use, but what if I told you that if there was someone down on Earth that I can contact them?"

Blue eyes widened at what her master just said. "Contact someone… on Earth?"

The king nodded. "As you are well aware, I have sent many incompetent soldiers to Earth as punishment for all the mistakes they've made. After all, it's not easy to survive on Earth if you are so incompetent you can't figure out how to hide your wings from the public. Not to mention that while it is easy to fall onto Earth if you know the location of the portal, it is harder to return back unless you know what to do."

"But if that's the case, wouldn't that mean that all of the men you sent down there are dead by now? Especially since a lot of them don't even know basic survival skills."

"Most are, yes. However upon much observation, I have seen that there is one individual who was smart enough to survive this long among the humans; one who I saw great potential in but disappointed me by the end."

Asaka stood there in complete shock and disbelief. "You can't be referring to… _him_?!" Ren didn't respond. The navy blue haired girl rushed over to him. "Your Majesty, this is suicide! Have you forgotten the crimes he committed in which gave him that sentence in the first place?"

The crimson haired ruler looked at her and gave her a little pat on the head. "Don't you worry your little head, Asaka. In fact, his crime just might be the very thing that will convince him to do what I say."

XxXxX

An old, worn down apartment stood in the darkest part of the city. It was not the perfect place to live in considering all the problems it had. The walls were thin and filled with cracks, which would turn the rooms into a frozen hell during the winter. During rainy seasons, the water would be leaked through the ceiling. It was also a nesting home for all kinds of different bugs.

Indeed it wasn't perfect. But to people who could only afford a cheap place like this, it was home.

Walking up the stairs to the second floor of the apartment was an old woman with unkempt grey hair and very little teeth in her mouth. Her appearance was as filthy and untidy as the apartment. The moment she reached the top of the stairs, she made her way to the last door at the end on her left. She banged on the door as hard as she could with her bony hand. There was no answer.

"Open up you damn punks!" she yelled at the top of her lungs with her scratchy voice, "I know you're in there! Come on out and show yourselves!"

There was only silence for the first minute. Not long after did the door finally open with a squeak, revealing the residents inside. Standing there at the door was a young man, glaring at the old woman. He was not happy to see her banging on his door when he was in the middle of a nap, having not slept well the night before due to the poor living conditions. Still, it was better than not having a roof on his head.

"Yeah? The hell do you want Old Hag?" he rudely asked her.

The old woman, who happened to be the landlady of the apartment, was unfazed by the younger man's comment. Having dealt with people like him in her line of work, she had learned to be just as harsh if there were any tenants that gave her a hard time. She held out her hand.

"The rent," she replied, "Hand it over!"

The boy gave a 'Tch,' as he rolled his eyes. "I ain't got the money right now." He was about to slam the door closed when the old woman stopped him. For someone as thin and bony as her, she was pretty strong.

"You said that last month as well!" she exclaimed, "I'm not leaving without my fucking money!"

An annoyed groan left the young man's lips as he ran his fingers through his silver hair, followed by a huff. He turned his head around, looking at his two roommates, who were currently getting competitive on a video game.

"Yo!" the silver haired male called out to them, "Where do we keep the cash?"

One of the two males; a blond haired male, paused the game that he and the other guy were playing, got out of his seat, and walked out of the room. He came back with some money in his hand and handed it to the silver haired male.

"Here's your cash! Happy?" the silver haired male snapped before slamming the door closed, this time successfully. He was about to walk away when he heard the old woman yelling from outside again.

"Hey, this is nowhere near the amount you owe!" She continued banging on the door. The silver haired male decided to just ignore her. Maybe the annoying old woman would leave if he doesn't respond. This kept on for a couple of minutes.

"Alright, fine!" the old woman continued, "I'll leave it like this for now! But you better pay rent in full next time or your asses are out of here!" With all that said, the boys could hear footsteps walking away from the door and downstairs; the old lady now leaving them alone. The silver haired male sighed as he walked over to the closest piece of furniture he could get to; a bean bag chair that felt like it was filled with rocks. However with the lack of money, they couldn't get more comfortable furniture so this was the best they could get.

The silver haired male let out a sigh as he relaxed on the painful piece of furnishings. "I hate this shitty life," he began to whine, "Old farts demanding you give them money for a place to live when you can't get money without doing a job, and even then it's impossible to get a job if you don't really have a place to live or you aren't a certain age. Even if you are a certain age, the pay is low. And why the hell does everything have to be so damn expensive?! Not just the rent, but food, clothes, anything else we may possibly want or need; it's ridiculous!"

He looked over at his roommates, who had went back to their video game, completely ignoring his rant. Agitated, the silver haired male grabbed the closest thing he could get, which was an empty soda can, and threw it at their direction to get their attention. Realizing their leader's irritation, they paused their game and faced him so he knew he had their attention.

Another sigh. "You know what sucks? The fact that we were so close to have taken over the kingdom of the Black Winged Clan. After all, I am a much better leader than the current king! The kingdom would be a better place to live in if I was the ruler! Instead, not only did we get caught, but we're forced to spend the rest of our lives here. It's bullshit!"

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it Boss," the other male; a tall brunet, responded, "We get sent here and we just have to live the rest of our lives as if we are one of the humans."

It was the blond's turn to speak. "You know, I heard rumours about the king; like he is possessed by some evil power or something."

"If he was possessed by some power then it would've been better if it was in my hands instead," said the silver haired male, "What I wouldn't give just to be back in the Cloudlands."

"Like that would happen Boss. It's not like a chance to return is going to appear in front of us."

Without warning the TV began blinking, and they knew that it wasn't because of the game. All three groaned. The TV was definitely old; was it finally reaching the end of its lifespan? The blond haired male got up from his seat and began banging on the top of the TV when a strange picture showed up; a picture of a face they had not seen in a while.

"It's good to see you again."

The silver haired male growled. That face was the last face he wanted to see, a face he never wanted to see again; the one good thing about his banishment from the Cloudlands. This was a face he wouldn't hesitate to kill if that meant never having to look at it again.

That face was the face of King Ren.

"What's the matter?" the king continued, "Are you not happy to see me?"

"As if we'd be happy to see the face of the man that ruined our lives," the silver haired man replied in a harsh tone, "We're already suffering enough as it is; we don't need you rubbing it in!"

Ren pretended to be offended, though it was clear he wasn't. "Do I really seem like the kind of person who would do that?" he asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible, "I can't believe you'd assume I'm that kind of person. And after I wanted to be nice to you and give you a chance to return to the Cloudlands. But if that's how you feel then I won't even bother-!"

"Hold it!" the silver haired male glared at the reflection on the TV, his eyes full of scepticism, "What did you mean by that?"

"It means exactly what I said; I will bring you back to the Cloudlands. Oh, and not just that! I plan to give you your very own castle. Yes, no longer will you have to deal with all of the problems of living on Earth. You will be able to do nothing more than rest and relax the rest of your lives."

"And what's the catch? What do we need to give you for you to give us that?"

A smirk ran across the red haired king's face. He could tell that he was getting their attention. The screen flashed and replacing the image of Ren was the image of blue hair and gold wings. The three boys stared at the image, curious as to why they would be shown this.

"You see the child standing before you," Ren questioned the boys, "This is Prince Aichi of the Gold Winged Clan. He accidentally fell in the portal and is now here on Earth. I ask that you find Prince Aichi and keep him with you until the month is over and the portal is open again. Once you return, you are to give him to me." The image of Ren returned. "Do you understand all that?"

The silver haired man's expression had not changed since he first saw the king. He crossed his arms. "So you're asking us to kidnap a prince and give him to you? Wouldn't that make us the enemies of the Cloudlands for committing such an act?"

"This coming from the same man who tried to overthrow me."

"Yeah, well I only did it because I don't like the way you run things. But this is angering the entire fucking Cloudlands. So forget it; I'm not gonna be a part of this shit."

Both the other boys stared at their leader like he was crazy. "But Boss," the brunet spoke up, "What happened to all that talk about wanting to return to the Cloudlands?"

"It ain't worth doing something like this," the silver haired male responded, "I'd rather die here on Earth for being a bum on the streets than die on the Cloudlands as a criminal!"

"You don't need to worry about anything like that," said Ren, "I assure you that you will not be viewed as a criminal. You would only be following my orders so you will not be blamed. Besides, the Cloudlands will not view the Black Winged Clan as villains. And even if they do, there's nothing they will be able to do about it. Either way, you will not be in any danger."

Both the blond and the brunet seemed convinced but the silver haired boy was still sceptical. He couldn't believe that the same man that banished them was giving them the chance to return back and all they had to do was capture a prince. What was so special about the gold winged prince that made Ren so eager to have him in his grasp? And was he really that desperate that he asked for _his_ help? That meant the silver haired male had the advantage.

He grinned. "So we just need to snatch the prince and we'll not only be free from trouble, but we'll also be given our own castle? And you better not be lying out of your ass about this."

Ren's smirk grew bigger. "Yes," he replied, "I swear on my title as King of the Black Winged Clan."

"Then that settles it!" the silver haired boy remarked, "By next month, you'll get your prince or I'm not the Amazing Kyou!" He gestured for the other two boys to follow him. "Come on guys; let's go catch ourselves a prince!" They left the apartment, leaving the image of Ren still on the TV, satisfied with his skills to trick the boys and hoped that they didn't disappoint him this time.

XxXxX

It had been half an hour since Aichi managed to retract his wings into his body. During that time, he had been working on keeping his balance so that he wouldn't fall over again. After twenty minutes of trial and error, he finally got his balance down and was now able to walk properly without his wings.

Meanwhile, Kai had been moving around the entire apartment for different things, First, he checked everything in the kitchen and wrote down anything they needed in terms of food and then looked in his wallet to see how much he had. He then proceeded to make lunch; a couple containers of instant ramen, which didn't take that long to cook. Both boys began eating their lunch in peace, though Aichi almost burnt his tongue having never eaten ramen before, and that was after he finally got the hang of using chopsticks. As soon as they finished eating, they put their garbage away and began doing their own thing.

Aichi was sitting on the bed, feeling accomplished now that he had managed to get used to moving around without his wings. It was still an unusual feeling given that his back felt lighter and more bare than it was before, but he was slowly getting used to it. His attention turned to Kai, who was digging through his closet, pulling out clothes and examining them before putting them in different piles. Curious as to what the brunet was doing, Aichi got up and walked over towards him.

"What are you searching for?" he asked.

"Clothes," Kai replied bluntly.

"I can see that but what are you looking for specifically? Maybe I can help."

Kai looked up at the blue haired boy with a blank expression on his face. Aichi wasn't sure if he could get used to someone constantly staring at him like that. This went on for a couple of minutes before the brunet looked down at the shirt he was already holding. He then stood up, unfolding the shirt and holding it up against Aichi. Aichi was not sure what Kai was doing, but didn't bother to question him. He just stood there as Kai picked up different shirts and holding them up against the blue haired boy.

After going through around ten different shirts, Kai chose a simple white shirt and gave it to Aichi to hold. The process was then repeated, only this time Kai went through different types of pants and held them up against the blue haired boy. He finally chose a blue pair after going through four different types and once again gave them to Aichi along with a pair of boxers.

"Get dressed," was all Kai said before he continued digging into his closet.

Aichi stared at him in confusion. "Get dressed?" he repeated in question.

"Well you can't really go out the way you are."

The blue haired boy looked down at the clothes he was already wearing. They were certainly clothes suited for someone who lived in the Cloudlands, but he was on Earth now. He didn't want to stand out so he would need to wear something different than what he was already wearing. Knowing that it was for the best, he placed the clothes Kai gave him onto the bed and started undressing.

Kai was digging through his closet until he found what he decided to wear; a red and black sweater and grey jeans. Satisfied with what he found, he put the rest of the clothes back into the closet and closed it. He unconsciously looked over at Aichi, who had already taken his shirt off, only to see something he had not expected.

There was no mistake about it; Aichi's wings had been retracted into his body and he looked like he could hide himself among the humans. It would've been a lie if Kai said that he wasn't curious about how a winged being's back looked like without the wings. He assumed that it probably didn't look any different from a human's back considering the similarities between them both.

But it wasn't really the case.

It wasn't like his back was scarred or anything, but Aichi's back was not fully bare. In place of the wings, there was what looked like a tattoo of golden wings covering his entire back; Aichi's golden wings. Feeling those teal eyes staring at him, the former winged being looked over at him, his arms resting against his chest like he was covering it. He could tell what the brunet was thinking from his expression.

"It's like I said," Aichi began, "Bodies of winged people are made of 5% magic. So retracting our wings into our bodies is easy, though painful at first. However, our wings end up appearing on our backs as markings. There's no magic that can hide it; at least not that I know of."

"So even if appear human in front of other humans, other winged beings would still be able to recognize you as one of them if they were to see your back," Kai noted.

Aichi lowered his head. "I don't know how other humans would react if they were to see my back like this…"

"You're fine," Kai assured him, "It won't look unusual. If any other humans were to see, they'll just think it's a tattoo or something."

Once he was sure everything was fine, the brunet took the clothes he chose for himself to wear and went to the bathroom. After a few minutes he walked out of the bathroom fully dressed to see Aichi dressed as well. The clothes were a little long and baggy on the blue haired male's tiny frame, but they were the smallest that Kai could find. The human male told Aichi that the clothes he was wearing would be only temporary, for he planned for them to stop by a clothing store to find some outfits more his size. With everything all set, they got their shoes on (Kai lent Aichi the smallest pair of sneakers he had on him, which sadly were a little too big and kept making him trip) and walked out the door.

Aichi stared in amazement upon the sight before him the moment they stepped out of the city. Rectangular shaped buildings so tall they almost touched the sky, strange looking roads that go in many different directions, so many interesting things he had never thought possible let alone actually seen, like carriages that move without something pulling them and flat boxes that showed lots of different imagery. He was even amazed with the amount of people bustling around the city, chatting and laughing as if they had no worries whatsoever.

There was no doubt about it; he was in a completely different world.

They began walking down the crowded street, passing lots of different stores which had Aichi very curious. Kai had to make sure the blue haired male didn't get lost on their way to their first destination. They had to stop from time to time due to the number of people walking around at this time as well as to make sure the sneakers that Aichi were wearing were properly adjusted so he didn't fall every time it seemed like he was going to stumble.

Before long they finally made it to their first stop; a clothing store. If Aichi were to be staying on Earth for a whole month, he couldn't keep borrowing Kai's clothes, especially with the noticeable difference in size. Aichi began exploring the store, showing the same kind of excitement a child would have at a toy store. He couldn't believe his eyes on the variety there; so many different clothes in many different sizes, shapes, colours, designs, textures, a whole assortment for people to choose from. Since neither boy had a good idea on what would be best, they got help from a woman who worked there.

As soon as they were satisfied with the clothes they got, Aichi put one of them on; a white t-shirt with a blue collar and blue baggy pants along with a proper pair of sneakers, while Kai paid. He didn't have much cash on him so he used a credit card Tsukiko gave him in case of emergencies. But it was fine to use it, right? This would technically count as an emergency, right?

Once the clothes were paid for and Aichi was properly dressed in said clothes, they decided to drop the bags back at the apartment before picking up the next thing they needed to get; groceries. Like with the clothes store, the blue haired male stared in wonder at everything they had, marveling the fact that some of the food they had he had never heard of before and how they were packaged. He didn't realize however that his reactions and gestures had people staring at him, their expressions clearly showing that they were weirded out. Kai let out a sigh as he watched Aichi inadvertently draw attention to himself.

They eventually managed to get all the food they needed and went to checkout. As Kai was paying for the food, Aichi waited outside, conversing with the pig mascot that was advertising the store. The brunet couldn't help but stare as he saw the giant pig doing a funny dance and Aichi clapping and cheering, big cerulean eyes sparkling with glee. It was hard for the human male to take his eyes away from that radiant smile. He had to admit that it was definitely better than when the originally winged male was sulking.

"Is that your friend?" the lady at the checkout asked the brunet, snapping him back to what he was doing.

"Not really," he responded flatly as he used his credit card again.

"He's really cute," she continued, "I haven't seen him around here. Is he a foreigner?"

"You could say that." He wasn't lying; Aichi wasn't technically from Japan, but then again he wasn't really from this _world_. Once he had finished paying, he rolled the shopping cart with the bags of groceries outside and over to where they are meant to be dropped off. Aichi, who had seen Kai walked out, waved goodbye to the pig mascot and helped the brunet take the bags out of the cart and carried them all the way back to the apartment.

With groceries put away (Kai had to instruct Aichi on where everything went), all Kai wanted to do was relax and not have to do anything until dinner but Aichi pleaded for them to go sightseeing some more. Kai would've argued but it occurred to him that out of all the places, there was one he knew the blue haired boy would've wanted to see the most. Letting out a defeated sigh, he agreed to take him out for a little bit longer.

They continued their stroll around the city. There were so many interesting places to see and Aichi really wanted to see all of them. But he knew Kai wasn't in the mood to walk around everywhere and he still had a month to explore everywhere, so for today he decided on the places he was most curious at. At least, any of the places Kai said was alright to go in. He told Aichi that there are some places that people normally don't go in unless they were of a certain age. As consolation he would tell the blue haired male what those places are so as to satisfy his curiosity.

They went to a few places, such as the arcade where they played a few games, including a fighting game and a DDR game, and a jewelry store, looking at all the chains they had to replace the broken one on the pendant. They even noticed an ice cream truck parked selling many frozen treats, in which Kai bought a vanilla ice cream cone for Aichi. Aichi had been smiling the entire time. As for Kai, he was not one to go around doing things like this, considering it all to be a pain, but he had to admit that doing this once in awhile was pretty refreshing. He even thought it was relaxing in its own way. It didn't mean he would want to do this again though.

Eventually they reached their final destination for the day; the place Aichi wanted to go to most of all, the park. It was very lively around this time of day, a few adults walking around but mostly children playing at the sandbox. The two young males walked deeper and deeper into the park; the amount of people becoming fewer and fewer, until they reached the reason they came here.

They stood in front of the lake at the back of the park, the same lake that Aichi floated out of. The water was so still it looked like glass as it sparkled under the sun's rays. Lots of koi fish were swimming along, minding their own business. With the lack of people, the space around the lake was quiet, tranquil even, with only the sound of nature as its ambiance.

Aichi took a few steps forwards, walking down the steps that led to the lake and sat down. He stared down at the water, reflecting his distressed expression like a mirror. If this really was the lake he came out of, no doubt this was his way of getting back. It was a good thing that besides info on everything regarding the portal and the ability to retract his wings, he also knew the way to get back. Unlike the portal back in the Cloudlands where you could just jump or fall into the lake and it would take you to Earth, there was a special way to use the portal on Earth. This was to prevent any humans from entering the Cloudlands. After all, what was the point of creating the Cloudlands to keep the Void away from humans if humans could get into the Cloudlands easily? But the anguish in waiting was what brought him down.

Kai stood near the top step to the lake, staring at both Aichi and the body of water in front of them. He didn't say a word. He couldn't say a word. Nothing he said would change anything anyway so why bother? Besides, he could see from Aichi's expression that he didn't really want to talk about it. So he just let it be and continued to stare at the lake in complete silence.

"Hey," Aichi spoke up, catching the brunet's attention, "I'd like some time to myself if that's alright."

The brunet's blank expression didn't waver a bit the moment the blue haired boy said that. Without rebelling or even questioning him, he started walking away, leaving Aichi alone by the lake. "I'll be close by when you're ready to leave."

Aichi continued to sit by the lake, staring at his reflection. He didn't know how long he was sitting there for; ten minutes? Twenty minutes? Thirty minutes? An hour? He then noticed that there was an orange hue in what was otherwise a beautiful blue sky. A small smile crossed his face as he saw one thing that hadn't changed; whether on Earth or in the Cloudlands, the sky remained the same.

He stood up. He figured it was probably getting late. And he didn't want to make Kai wait any longer. While he was thankful to the brunet for showing him kindness on the first day, he really didn't want to take his kindness for granted. It would be rude. He knew he had to repay him somehow.

Just as he was about to walk away from the lake and search for Kai, he bumped into someone. "I'm so sorry!" Aichi worriedly apologized.

"Hey, don't worry about it," the person replied with a carefree smile, "We just bumped into each other. No harm done."

The blue haired boy was about to object when he noticed something about the person he bumped into. He was a young man around Aichi's age with short silver hair and sly looking violet eyes. He was dressed in a white shirt with a black jacket and blue jeans with holes on the knees, which Aichi found rather interesting since he hadn't seen anyone else dressed this way.

"Anyways," the silver haired boy continued, "You okay? I was walking by when I saw you looking a little down."

Aichi felt a little embarrassed. He was so focused on his troubles that he had no idea how he looked in front of other people. He gave a sheepish smile as he scratched his head. "Uh, yeah! I was just thinking of stuff. Nothing to fuss over. But nice meeting you!" He was about to walk away when the silver haired male grabbed his wrist.

"Hey, leaving so soon?" asked the silver haired male, "Why don't we go someplace to chat some more?"

The look on the silver haired male's face wasn't as friendly as he appeared before. Aichi had a feeling that he was in danger. What did this person want? Why was he fixated on Aichi in particular?

The silver haired male snickered. "Of course, it doesn't matter how much we chat. I already know as much as I need to know about you… Prince Aichi."

Aichi's eyes widened. This person knew about him. Fully aware that he was in danger, he tried to pull away. But as hard as he tried, the silver haired male's grip was too strong. Not long did two men appear before them; a blond and a brunet. They appeared to be snickering along with the silver haired male.

"I'd advise you don't struggle and keep quiet, Your Highness," the silver haired male continued, "There's not a lot of people left in the park at this time so the chances of someone coming for you is low. Besides, do you honestly want to drag a human into the affairs of winged beings? We won't hesitate to use our powers and reveal ourselves to the humans if that happens."

"W-Who are you?" the blue haired boy asked in a trembling voice, "How do you know who I am?"

The silver haired male smirked. Seeing the prince of the Gold Winged Clan afraid of him was quite amusing. He didn't just look wimpy, he was an actual wimp. Some prince! Things were going so well he figured it wouldn't hurt if the blue haired boy learned who he was.

"The name's Kyou!" he declared, "Me and my boys here were ordered to keep you safe with us until the portal opens again and we send you to King Ren."

Aichi was speechless. Ren ordered them? How was that possible? More importantly, he needed to get away from them. He hated how weak he was; always getting into trouble like this. If he was a lot stronger he would be able to push these guys away and escape. But he couldn't do that. And like that guy, Kyou, said; if he tried to scream for help then they wouldn't hesitate to reveal themselves as winged people and drag Aichi along with them. But would they really do that? Could they be bluffing? Bluff or not Aichi didn't want to risk it. He was very limited with his options. What could he do?

"Hey! What the hell are you doing to that kid?!"

All four males turned towards the owner of the voice. It was Kai. Aichi was relieved that he had come to his rescue but was worried with what Kyou and the other two men would do to him. After all, how could a human take on three winged beings?

Kyou looked irritated. "What? You want something, bud?"

Kai crossed his arms. "Yeah. How about you leave the kid alone."

The silver haired male and his two buddies laughed. "Yeah right! We have business with him! So stay out of it!"

"No can do." Kai pulled out his cell phone. "Want me to call the cops on you?"

This didn't seem to faze Kyou. "Are you serious? Like we're afraid of some guys in suits!"

"Hey, Boss," the blond whispered into Kyou's ear, "You sure you want to do that? What if he seriously calls the cops on us?"

Kyou glared at him. "Like hell I'm going to back down!" he said a little louder than intended, "I wanna hurry and get this over with so we can get back to the Cloudlands!"

Kai's eyes widened. These guys were from the Cloudlands like Aichi? No, they weren't like Aichi. The vibe he got from them were more vile and deviant. Just looking at them screamed trouble. And the expression on Aichi's face proved that they weren't to be trusted.

"Eh, fuck it!" Kyou yelled out in irritation, "Just take this guy down, boys! He's just a human!"

Both of Kyou's buddies walked over to Kai, the look in their eyes showing they were determined to fight and win. Kyou stayed behind, keeping his grasp on Aichi so he didn't run away. The blue haired boy stared at Kai who was about to be ambushed by the two, worried for the human who had been so kind to him and was risking his life to save him.

Kai was unsure of what to do himself. He had hoped that that threat of calling the police would scare them away. He had no idea they were winged beings as well. And now they wanted to fight him. He was in big trouble. He had never fought anyone before in his life. Even if he did, could he really be able to take on two winged beings? No, he should be able to do this. It isn't hard to just pull a few punches and kicks. He could surely do that, right? But even then it would depend on both his own strength and his opponents.

At this point, he was most likely a goner.

But just as they were about to strike, as if by instinct, Kai's body moved by itself and dodged the attack by dashing swiftly to the side. It was a surprise to everyone; Kai included, that he was able to dodge it the way he did. Angry that they weren't able to hit him the first time, they tried to hit him again and again, determined to at least land something on him. But with every attack they made, Kai was able to dodge them without breaking a sweat.

Eventually, the two winged beings had enough. They were done playing around and they were about ready to kill Kai. Kai realized it too that he couldn't stay on the defensive forever. He need to land an attack. Something welled up inside him, like a powerful flame had been lit within his body. Like before, it seemed like his body knew what to do. Once again he dodged the blows, but this time he made a few blows of his own, which fortunately made their hit. It didn't matter if the blow came from his hands or his feet, his nimble movements gave him the advantage.

Both Kyou and Aichi were staring in disbelief. Without getting hit once, Kai was easily defeating Kyou's buddies. His movements didn't even look natural. It was like he wasn't human. They continued watching as Kai was winning his battle. Before they knew it, both the blond and brunet were down on the ground, leaving Kai as the victor.

He looked over at Kyou, who was trembling in fear. How the hell was a human able to fight like that? The human marched over to the silver haired male and with no struggle managed to free Aichi from Kyou's grasp. His hand on the blue haired male's wrist, Kai rapidly made his way to the park exit with Aichi right behind him.

Realizing what just happened, Kyou snapped out of his fear and dashed over to his companions who were still lying on the ground. "What the hell are you guys doing?! The prince is getting away!" But by the time all three got up and made their way to the exit, Aichi had disappeared along with Kai. Kyou was furious. They may have escaped for now, but the next time they meet, the prince will be in his grasp.

XxXxX

Aichi and Kai were exhausted the moment they made it back to the apartment, heaving as they rested their backs against the wall. Luckily, it didn't seem like the winged beings were following them. They were safe, but only for now. No doubt this wouldn't be the last time they'll see them.

But there were other things to think about. The moment their breathing was even again, Aichi looked over at Kai; cerulean eyes gleaming with delight. "You were incredible!" he exclaimed, "I never even thought you could fight like that!"

Kai ran his hand through his hair as he recollected the events that just happened. "Neither had I…" he mumbled.

The blue haired male continued as he made his way to the bed, gesturing along with his words. "I mean you were like… And then they… But then you dodged it and… Then you… AH!" He fell backwards onto the bed, giggling like a madman. "That was amazing!"

Hearing no response, he looked up from the bed to see Kai stretching and moving his muscles. Aichi's smile fell and turned into a glum frown as he remembered the fear he felt before Kai showed he could protect himself. Sure, his technique in combat was impressive, but what if that wasn't the case. Aichi would've been taken away by Kyou. And Kai…

Guilt stung his heart. He sat up with his head down and his hands resting on his lap, clasped together. "Kai…" he spoke in soft, quiet voice, "Thank you… for saving me… and… I'm sorry you had to get involved…"

Kai looked over at Aichi, his expression the same as always, but there was a hint of bewilderment. He walked over to the bed and stood in front of the blue haired male. "So, care to explain who those guys were and why they were after you? They said they were from the Cloudlands, but I think there's more to it."

Aichi was not sure if he should respond. He didn't want to drag Kai into any more of his problems. However, the expression in those sharp teal eyes gave the impression that they wouldn't back down no matter how much he refused to tell until he would finally give in. He sighed.

He began explaining to Kai who Kyou and his companions were; that they were from the Black Winged Clan and that they were sent by Ren in order to capture him. He also explained who Ren was and everything that led up to Aichi falling into Earth. Details that Aichi had not told beforehand like the fact that he was a prince were revealed. Kai had been completely silent, his visage still the same but it was clear that he was listening intentively. Even though it didn't show on his face, he was a little surprised about the whole thing. Everything was already crazy with just Aichi's appearance in his life, but now there were a lot more things going on. And what made it more absurd was that this was all actual fact; that everything the blue haired male was saying were events that were going on this very moment.

After he explained everything, Aichi got up from the bed and started heading towards the door. "I'm sorry for everything up until now. I'll take my leave." But Kai was quick and grabbed his wrist before he could leave.

"We are not repeating this morning's discussion," the brunet irritably responded, "You'll stay here until you are able to go back home!"

Aichi faced him, his face containing a hurt and worried expression, as he tried to pull his hand away. "I don't want to take your kindness for granted," his voice wavered as he replied, "You've already done enough for me. I don't want you to be dragged into this."

"Kinda a little late for that, don't you think?"

He regretted saying that when he saw Aichi's expression turn sullen once again; tears welling up on the edges of his eyes threatening to fall. Kai sighed. "Listen…" he continued, this time trying a softer tone of voice, "You can't go back out there by yourself; those guys would capture you if you do. It's best if you stay here for the time being. Within a month's time, you'll be able to return home and you won't have to worry about anything anymore."

Aichi's mood seemed to have gotten worse. "What do you mean I 'won't have to worry'? I don't even know what's going on back in the Cloudlands. I don't know what King Ren is planning, I don't know if anything has happened to my clan, I know absolutely nothing! So don't you dare say that I'll have nothing to worry about, because if that were true then everything up until now would never have happened! I wouldn't even be here in the first place!" The tears that had been building up began to fall as the blue haired male collapsed onto the ground. His body trembled as he sat there, an aura of despair clouding around him. "Look at me; I'm supposed to be the future king of the Gold Winged Clan but I can't do anything to protect anyone. _I'm_ the one who always needs to be protected and it's always resulted with someone risking their own life for me."

Kai could only stand there in silence as Aichi sobbed there on the floor. To an outsider, it would seem like he was very cold for not doing anything else to help cheer the blue haired boy. But this was not the case. It wasn't that Kai didn't want to try to cheer the boy up. Rather, he didn't know how to do so. There was nothing at the moment he could say, and even if he did his words would be drowned out by Aichi's cries. He wasn't that big on physical contact either so there was no way he would give the boy a hug. He didn't want to attempt it either since he figured it wouldn't come off as sincere. Therefore, he came to the conclusion of just standing there. It wasn't much but he figured the thought of someone being close by is a comforting act in itself.

Some time had passed when Aichi's sobs had been reduced to tiny sniffles. With the blue haired boy calming down, Kai helped him stand up. Aichi stared up at the brunet; his eyes red and swollen from crying so much, his face soaked from all the tears, and a bit of snot was dripping from his nose. Kai grabbed a few tissues from the tissue box and gave them to Aichi. Aichi gratefully accepted them and began drying his face and blowing his nose.

"You know," Kai began, "You said before that once the portal is used, it can't be opened again for another month, right?" Aichi nodded. "So if it's true that that guy from before was called by this… 'King Ren' guy, he couldn't have followed you from the portal since it's closed up, right?" Aichi nodded again. "You sure that that portal is the only one?"

"Of course it is," Aichi replied with a sniffle, "If there were more than one portal, then it would be harder to contain the Void."

"Then if there's only one portal and you have already used it, then that means that silver haired guy had been here already. It makes a lot of sense with the way he talked. If we consider it like that, then he must've been contacted in some way."

"Kai, I don't understand. What are you getting at?"

The brunet looked down at Aichi so they were eye to eye. "Among the things that you learned what to do, did you learn a way to communicate with someone?"

Aichi pondered for a bit. His eyes widened and a smile returned to his face. "Yes! I believe there was something like that!"

"So then you can contact someone from your clan, right?" Kai asked eagerly, "If you can get in contact with someone, even if you still have to wait a month until the portal opens, you can still be assured if everything is alright, right?"

"Yes! Yes, I can! Except…"

"Except…?"

Aichi gave a sheepish grin as he scratched his head. "I think that might've been one of the classes I fell asleep during."

Kai's eyes narrowed. "You… fell asleep?"

"Yeah…"

"So that means that as much as you wanted to, you can't pull off the spell to contact someone because you… fell asleep when you trying to learn it."

"Afraid so…"

This moment had to have broken the record for becoming hopeful then disappointing in less than five minutes. Kai expected Aichi to have a crestfallen expression after that. But to his surprise, he could still see a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Was there something that he missed?

"But even if I don't remember it, someone back home must," Aichi continued, "When they find out I'm here on Earth, they'll have to try to contact me. I'll probably have to wait a bit, possibly a few days." He looked up at the brunet. "Kai, I hope you don't mind… but is it alright for me to stay here for a bit? At least until I get contact with someone?"

"...Whatever," Kai replied before walking into the kitchen, getting ready to prepare dinner.

Aichi let out a small smile. He had decided; he would stay with Kai only for a few days until he gets communication with someone from the Gold Winged Clan. He'll ask them if there was anyone he could stay with until the portal opens up again, and then once the month is up he'll be able to return home safely. By that point, he will continue what he had been doing before; to search for something that will help free the Cloudlands from the Void.

He only hoped that nothing could go wrong.


	8. Chapter 7: Misunderstandings

The next day started off a bit better for the two boys. Kai was the first to get up, considering he had a nightmare similar to the other night wake him up at around 2:30 am and had a hard time trying to return to sleep after that. As he walked to the kitchen, he looked down at Aichi, who was still asleep in the futon (Aichi insisted that he sleep on the futon considering that he was a guest in Kai's apartment), snuggled into the blankets like it was a cocoon. He was amazed with how well the blue haired boy could sleep despite everything that happened yesterday. He was probably a heavy sleeper. Kai couldn't help but be a little envious of that. Maybe if he were also a heavy sleeper, the nightmares wouldn't bother him so much. He then walked into the kitchen, putting the black apron on and began getting breakfast started. He decided to make a Japanese style breakfast for a change, and it helped that they bought the ingredients for that the other day.

He was halfway through cooking everything when he heard a soft yawn nearby. Aichi had just woken up by the smell wafting through his senses. He sat up; the blanket slipping off his shoulders, exposing the blue pajamas they bought for him yesterday, while rubbing one eye. He looked up at the brunet, who was currently boiling some salmon on a pan.

"Morning…" Aichi groggily greeted him.

Kai glanced at Aichi through the corner of his eye before bringing his attention back to the fillets. "Looks like you slept well."

"Did you?"

The brunet was unsure as to how to respond to that. He decided to keep quiet about the topic. As if he would tell someone he had only met yesterday about the nightmares he had constantly been getting. "Breakfast will be done in a bit. Do whatever until then."

So he said, but Aichi was not sure on what to do. He didn't know how humans entertained themselves while they waited. He looked around the room, figuring out what it was he could do. The room was filled with familiar furniture like the bed, a desk, and a small bookshelf. However there were a few things he was not completely familiar with. He learned the big flat black box was something called a 'television' and that you turn it on with something called a 'remote'. He picked up the remote and remembering how Kai turned it on once, pressed the button that needed to be pressed.

A man in his 40s was presented on the screen, talking about the weather for the day. Aichi had asked Kai the night before when this came on how humans could predict the weather. He remembered the brunet told him that it had something to do with air pressure and that those trained in the study known as 'meteorologists' can determine the weather based on a certain air pressure or something like that. His memory on the topic was a little fuzzy and it was mostly because Aichi couldn't understand the terms properly though.

He pressed the button he needed to press to 'change channels' as Kai had explained. There were so many different things on the TV he was not sure which one he should stick to. After going through around fifteen different channels, he found one that caught his eye.

Strange looking warriors dressed in the same weird attire of different colours with masks that cover their entire face and being constantly called 'rangers' were fighting some unusual looking monster. They kept shouting out random words as they fought the monster, though it appeared the attacks were affected. Aichi was confused. What kind of thing was this? He was told among the many things he learned about TV was that some things shown were real and other times they weren't. He cocked his head to the side as he watched the phenomenon happening on screen. Was this one of the things TVs show that were fictional? He had to admit that he found the TV to be one of the most interesting things about Earth.

Aichi was so occupied with what was shown on TV that he hadn't realized that Kai had finished cooking breakfast. The brunet called him a few times before finally getting his attention, and they began putting the futon away and setting up the small table before setting the food down. The blue haired male was in awe with what was placed before him; broiled salmon fillet with miso soup and steamed white rice, all with a nice warm cup of tea for both of them.

"Thank you for the food!"

They began eating. There was no form of conversation between them. Aichi had tried the night before to make any form of discussion but it ended in vain. He was now definitely sure; Kai was not the talkative type.

As for Kai himself, he never made conversation while eating. Sure, there were moments where he would be invited to eat dinner with Miwa and Tsukiko but he never had to talk unless addressed to. However, with him and Aichi being the only ones and the blue haired male was a bit more sociable than he was, he was forced to constantly give signals to show that he was not interested.

It was certain; this would be a long month for the both of them.

After they had finished eating, Kai took the dishes and began cleaning them while Aichi went back to watching TV. When he was done, he noticed Aichi was no longer there. He then heard water running in the bathroom and figured the blue haired boy was there washing his hands or something. He was about to seat himself on the bed when a familiar object that rested on the desk caught his eye.

Aichi's pendant.

Kai walked over to the desk and picked the piece of neckwear up. The metal material that it was made of was smooth to touch as it laid in his hand. He also had to admire how well done the dragon carving looked, for it felt like the dragon could pop out of there with ease. The ruby that rested in the middle glittered from the sunlight reflected through the window. The new chain that they bought to replace the old one perfectly complimented the craftsmanship of the medallion.

The question, however, was why images similar to the pendant's design appeared in his dream? What was the semblance of the dragon and the ruby? He stared straight at the pendant, thinking he could figure it out just by looking at it. Sadly, he got nothing. It was nothing more than a regular pendant.

"Something about my pendant that interests you?"

Kai looked up to see Aichi standing there. He looked neither annoyed or angry. He just smiled with a glimmer of curiosity within cerulean eyes. The brunet was so absorbed in figuring out the connection between his dream and the pendant he didn't even realize Aichi had even left the bathroom. Kai looked back down at the pendant.

"This pendant is something important to you, isn't it?" he asked, "You were pale and terrified that moment when you thought you lost it yesterday. Can you tell me what it is?"

Aichi averted his gaze as he went deep in his train of thought. "To be honest, I don't know much about this pendant. The only thing I could find out was that it was a pendant from the Red Winged Clan, a clan that no one knows exists anymore or not."

"Then why do you have it? Why is it so important to you?"

"I don't know." Aichi turned around so his back faced Kai, wrapping his arms around himself. "I just woke up one day with it in my possession. I don't even know why I cherish it as much as I do but there's just something… I don't know what." He looked back at Kai. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," was all Kai responded with as he placed the pendant back onto the desk.

The blue haired boy simply smiled, not bothering to question the older male. He decided to change the topic; he asked how humans wash themselves. Kai noticed that Aichi was asking how to use the bathroom. He could understand why; different customs for different people, and Aichi could already tell that things were a lot different compared to living in the Cloudlands.

He explained to Aichi on how humans, more specifically the people here in Japan, wash themselves. The younger male was a quick learner and it only took Kai one time to explain how. Assured that Aichi understood, Kai left the bathroom so the blue haired male could wash himself and went to watch some more TV.

Kai was watching some random variety show that just happened to be airing on the channel the TV was left on when he realized that Aichi didn't take some clean clothes with him. He dug through the clothes he bought Aichi and picked out a shirt, pants, a pair of socks, and of course underwear and walked over to the bathroom door. He knocked.

There was no answer.

He knocked again.

Still no answer.

Why wasn't Aichi answering? Maybe he'll respond to Kai's voice. "Hey, I brought you some clean clothes!"

There was still only silence.

This was getting serious. Why wasn't Aichi responding? Wasting no time, he opened the door when he suddenly found himself being knocked down to the ground. It happened so fast that he was not able to process it. As he regained his senses, he let out a small groan as the pain of falling had finally caught up to him.

"Sorry," he heard Aichi's voice on top of him, "I kept hearing knocking and assumed you wanted to use the bath so I was rushing to get out. But I seemed to have stepped on something and I slipped."

Kai leaned up slightly to see what it was Aichi slipped on. He saw a familiar yellow bar on the bathroom floor. He understood now. Aichi must have dropped the bar of soap before he went to soak in the tub and stepped on it unknowingly as he rushed to the bathroom door.

He felt Aichi trying to get up from on top just to slip and fall right back down, landing on the brunet once again. Kai let out another pained groan. He had never thought of Aichi to be the clumsy type. The blue haired boy tried getting up again but he once again fell down, differently this time. When he first fell down and the first time he tried to get himself back up, he kept falling so his head rested on Kai's shoulder. This time, however, not only was he able to keep his head up, but he was propped up just enough so the two had eye contact with each other.

And that was when Kai realized something.

Here he was, lying face up underneath a wet Aichi who had just gotten out of the bath, clad in only a white towel wrapped around his chest and covering right down to his upper thigh. With the way he looked, Aichi could be easily mistaken for a girl, as if it weren't obvious enough the night they first met. This was a very awkward situation they were in and Kai knew he needed to help get the blue haired male off of him but there was just something that kept him from doing so.

He couldn't keep his eyes off the being on top of him. He didn't know what it was; somehow he found the boy to be absolutely breathtaking as he stared at him. Small droplets of water stuck onto creamy skin, glittering from the light. Short blue hair was still damp, making it look longer than it was. And what was this sweet scent wafting into his senses? It didn't smell like the shampoo Kai kept. The longer he stared, the stranger the brunet felt. He could feel an unusual heat consuming his entire body. Why did he feel this way just by staring at someone he had only met yesterday wearing nothing but a towel?

Things couldn't get more awkward than this.

"Hey, Kai! I've been calling your cell about five times! Why didn't you-?!"

Kai whipped his head in the direction of the voice that had just appeared in his apartment and mentally cursed his luck. As if he wasn't already in an embarrassing situation already, Miwa had to show up and make it worse. Why does he so called best friend always appear during some of the worst times?

It wasn't just Kai that noticed Miwa's appearance. Aichi had also turned his head to see the blond standing there at the doorway, shock clearly shown on his face. The blue haired male realized the situation and his face turned red. Here he was on top of Kai in only a towel still soaking wet from his bath. He let out a little shriek before he dashed back into the bathroom, taking the clothes that Kai brought him with him, slamming the door behind him.

With the extra weight no longer on him, Kai stood up. His bed clothes were now soaked but that was a minor inconvenience compared to the grinning idiot standing in the doorway. Teal eyes narrowed. He knew that grin; nothing good happens when that grin appears.

"Wow Kai!" Miwa remarked; blue eyes shining with whimsy as his grin grew to the point where it could rival the Cheshire Cat, "Never in my wildest dreams did I think the day would come when my best friend becomes a man," He pretended to wipe away nonexistent tears. "My little Kai has grown up."

"And just what do you mean by that?" Kai huffed, crossing his arms.

Miwa walked over and put his arm around his friend. "You know what I mean!" He gestured to the bathroom door. "So, uh, double checking. Is your new friend a girl or a guy?"

"He's a guy. Wh-?!"

"Ah! Okay! It was hard to tell. To be honest, I never thought you swung that way. Not that I care, mind you! If you prefer batting to the other team then I'm cool with it! Well, unless you try making a move on me then I would be deeply concerned. You know, because I see you more like a brother-!"

Now realizing the misunderstanding, Kai jabbed the blond right at the ribs with his elbow. Miwa let go of Kai as he wrapped his arms on his stomach. "It's not like that at all," Kai explained bluntly, "Whatever sick fantasy you have up in that brain of yours; he and I weren't doing what you think we were doing. We don't have that kind of a relationship."

Despite being in pain, that giant grin never left Miwa's face. He snickered at Kai's comment. "Right… You're not really convincing me with _that_."

The brunet didn't understand what his chuckling friend was on about until he looked down at something Miwa was pointing at. Kai's entire face turned scarlet. Standing at attention for all to see was an obvious bulge in Kai's groin area. The blond burst out into laughter upon seeing his best friend's reaction. Kai rushed over to get some clean, dry clothes to change into and held it as cover before glaring back at Miwa, who was now rolling on the floor laughing with glee and crying in pain from the jab in his stomach at the same time.

It was then that Aichi came out of the bathroom fully dressed. Kai made no hesitation as he pushed past the blue haired boy and ran into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Aichi was not sure what was wrong with Kai, but the bigger question was regarding the blond lying on the ground. Miwa noticed the younger boy looking down at him and stood back up, trying to calm down the few giggles he still had in him.

"Yo!" he greeted the blue haired boy.

Aichi cocked his head to the side. What did 'yo' mean? Was it a greeting? Unsure of what to do, the blue haired boy simply raised his hand a little and gave a tiny wave. He then remembered the scene that the blond saw and bowed before him.

"I'm so sorry you had to see such a disgraceful sight!" Aichi apologized, "That wasn't supposed to happen!"

Miwa could see how panicked the blue haired boy was and tried to calm him down. "It's okay! To be fair, I'm partially to blame as well. I should've knocked first. Though honestly I've never seen Kai invite someone into his apartment let alone use the bathroom," He walked closer, observing the blue haired male. "I hate to be interrogating you like this, but what exactly is your relationship with Kai?"

"Kai's only letting me stay here until I find another place to stay at."

"Really? You two looked pretty intimate with each other when I walked in. Heck, Kai even had a-!"

Before he could finish that sentence, the blond felt a smack on the head. Kai had already come out of the bathroom, dressed in clean, dry clothes. It also seemed like his little 'problem' had already been resolved as well. The expression on his face clearly showed that he was still pissed at Miwa.

"He's here only because he has no place to stay in the meantime and nothing more," the brunet stated.

Groaning in pain from the sudden smack, Miwa rubbed his head as he stared at his angered friend. Judging from the blue haired boy's innocent expression and the fact that Kai was trying to pretend that incident didn't happen, the blond figured that what he was saying was possibly true. He gave an apology for misunderstanding, even though his assumption was completely justified, and it was decided that the whole situation was best left forgotten.

"I just realized," Miwa began, "I haven't introduced myself, have I? Sorry about that. I'm Miwa," He held out his hand for Aichi to take.

Aichi shook Miwa's hand. "Nice to meet you. My name is Aichi."

Not long after Aichi introduced himself did Miwa's cheerful grin turn into a serious frown. "Aichi, huh?"

"Yes," the blue haired boy responded, "Is there a problem?"

Not long after he was asked that did the blond's grin return. "No, not at all. Though I'm curious; have we by any chance met before?" He then realized what he sounded like and got a little flustered. "I'm not trying to pick you up or anything; I'm genuinely curious! You seem familiar!"

The blue haired boy shook his head. "I'm sure we haven't. I'm… not even from this city."

"Really?" Miwa sighed, "I see. I'm probably thinking about someone else then."

"Miwa," Kai interrupted the conversation, annoyance clear through his expression, "Why are you even here anyways? Is it so important you had to use your spare key to get in?"

Aichi was confused. "Spare key?"

The blond noticed the younger male's confusion and decided to clear it up. "Well, Kai wanted to live on his own so Mom helped him with the money so he could live here."

"Oh!" Aichi clapped; his face lit up as he felt like he understood, "So you guys are brothers!"

"Not exactly," said Miwa as he scratched his head, "Kai and I aren't related by blood. However, we have been together for so long it does feel like we are real brothers. My mom has always been there to help take care of Kai too. Especially after-!"

Kai cleared his throat, the attention back at him. "I'm right here. You still haven't answered my question."

Miwa sheepishly grinned. "Sorry about that, buddy. Mom wants you to come over for a bit. She wants to talk to you about something."

"Is it anything she could just tell me on the phone?"

"Highly doubt it. She's busy with a new project right now so she couldn't come over to see you herself, but she said she wanted to talk with you about something in person."

Kai sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "How soon does she want me to come over?"

"She said as soon as possible."

While the brunet did not hate Tsukiko, it annoyed him how much of a nagging mother she could be, and she wasn't even _his_ mom. He knew it was going to be a pain to see her, but he figured he should probably go see her and get it over with sooner rather than later. "I'll go see her now." He went to put his shoes on. He then remembered that Aichi was still standing there. Kai turned towards him. "Hey, you'll be okay here by yourself right?"

Aichi nodded. "Yeah. I'm still waiting for someone at home to contact me."

The brunet nodded back. The moment he was ready, he and Miwa left, leaving Aichi alone in the apartment. The blue haired boy was surprised with how much bigger the place felt with only him there. He had to admit he felt a little uneasy being here by himself. He wondered if this was how Kai felt every day. Aichi concluded that it would be impossible. If the brunet truly was uncomfortable alone in his own apartment he wouldn't have chose to live here in the first place.

For the first time since he got here, Aichi began to fall into deep thoughts about the whole situation. He was truly lucky for things to happen the way they did since he fell into Earth. He highly doubted any other human would've been so generous to the winged being if they had found him instead of Kai. Despite first impressions, the brunet was a really nice guy. A little harsh but he could've been worse. Aichi was really grateful for him to help him.

However, he knew he shouldn't take this kindness for granted. He already felt bad for the burden he was putting on Kai with just one day. There was no way he could last for a whole month. He had already decided that the moment someone from the Gold Winged Clan contacts him, he will leave to wherever he could stay for the rest of the time he had. And as for the human he had befriended, he could go back to how his life was before the winged being had invaded it. That is if nothing bad has happened. Aichi laid down on the bed, patiently waiting for his opportunity to contact home, thoughts of how good it would feel to hear a familiar voice calling him clouding his mind as he slowly started to fall back asleep.

XxXxX

It wasn't long when Kai and Miwa got to Miwa's house. The brunet was not happy to be dragged along to see Tsukiko, especially since if it was really so urgent it wouldn't be a big issue for the blonde woman to come see him herself. Heck, it wouldn't have hurt if she just called him on his cell. Well whatever it was she needed, he hoped it wouldn't take very long or be a waste of time. He felt rather uneasy leaving Aichi alone in his apartment. It was unlikely that it would happen, but he didn't want to risk leaving the blue haired boy alone if those men from before were to find the apartment.

A question formed in Kai's mind; why did he care so much? He had only known the winged boy for about two days now. It wasn't enough time for any form of relationship between them to form aside from mere acquaintances. But it was funny. He felt it before yesterday as well, but something within Kai's subconscious was telling him that he and Aichi might've known each other before sometime in the past. However, the brunet found that idea to be completely asinine. He knew there was no way the two of them had met before. Besides, Aichi said that he had never been on Earth prior to these recent events. By that logic, there was no chance of them ever meeting before. That sadly did not stop these feelings of familiarity from tingling in his gut though.

Miwa broke the brunet out of his thoughts. "So, shall we go in?" Kai decided to stop thinking about it for now. He had more important issues to take care of, such as checking with Tsukiko and go see what she wanted.

The moment they went inside, Miwa led Kai to the basement where Tsukiko worked. The brunet knew he would never get used to what laid dormant there. Within the giant underground room were hundreds upon hundreds of various attire scattered around; tops, bottoms, dresses, shoes, gloves, hats, jewelry, many different accessories, even wigs and masks. The colours were so vibrant that they stood out in this dark, dull looking room. From the far back, they could hear the rumbling of a machine working at its hardest. The two boys passed the many rows of clothing until they saw the person in question they were looking for running a piece of red fabric through a sewing machine.

Tsukiko worked as a seamstress, but she didn't specialize in casual wear. What she made were cosplays, some of them existing characters that were popular among the public, others were unique characters of her creation. She always showed an enthusiastic attitude towards her job, and the moment her magic fingers touched material, she would usually never stop until she had either finished her job or if she needed to take food or bathroom breaks. There had been moments when she would go a full week without sleep. It would have to be important if she needed to talk to someone while in the middle of work.

"Hey Mom!" Miwa called out to the blonde woman, "Kai's here!"

"Give me a minute," she responded; her eyes glued to the job at hand as she continued to sew. It took her a few minutes before she was finished putting together what looked like a tube of red fabric. Kai assumed by the size and look of it that it was a sleeve for something. Once Tsukiko was done, she looked over at the brunet; a smile graced on her ruby lips. However, that was not her usual cheerful smile. Rather, this smile felt forced as it stretched her cheek muscles.

No doubt about it; she was pissed.

"Toshiki, so good to see you," she greeted the brunet, stretching each syllable of each word. She then looked over at Miwa. "Taishi, be a dear and get me something to eat; something light please."

Miwa complied. He could tell however that food was not the biggest thing in her mind at the moment. No, he knew that it had a hidden meaning; one that said 'Please leave the two of us alone.' But before he went back upstairs, he leaned close to Kai's ear and whispered, "Good luck, buddy. You'll need it."

The moment the blond male was gone, it was just Kai and Tsukiko in the room. Kai's expression was blank, though he wondered what had happened to make the older woman so angry. With Miwa's last words to him, it implied that it was something the brunet himself did to get her this riled up. As for what that was, well he was certain he was going to find out shortly.

Tsukiko sat there, her smile not faltering in the slightest. The air around her was dark, giving off a dangerous and disturbing vibe. She was silent for the first little bit, causing Kai to feel a little uncomfortable and intimidated by her presence.

"So," she finally spoke, "How have you been?"

Kai was unsure what the blonde woman was thinking starting everything with small talk. However, the brunet learned from past experiences that it wouldn't be smart to make her more agitated than she already was. His hands tucked in his jeans pockets, he gave a short shrug. "Fine, I guess."

"Excited for your birthday in about a month?"

"Meh." It had slipped from his mind that his birthday would be soon, what with him trying to keep a winged person safe at his apartment. Not that Kai cared anyway. He would've preferred to skip the day all together if not for both Tsukiko and Miwa insisting that they celebrate it.

The older woman finally stood up. Kai flinched a bit the moment she moved. He didn't know what she had planned to do. Heck, he still didn't know why she was angry. She opened her mouth. Was this it? Was she going to say the reason why she was pissed?

"You are a good boy, Toshiki."

Kai was dumbfounded. Was that all she wanted to say? This couldn't be it. There was no way Tsukiko would have had him dragged here just to say how much of a 'good boy' he was. However, he decided to keep quiet and let her continue, for it looked like she wanted to say more.

"You already do as you are told and you are always well behaved," she continued, "Granted, I do wish you were a little more sociable but I can't complain. As you know, I have this cosplay business, which has been very tiring I will admit, but it has been enough to pay the bills and it's a job I love doing. And I do prefer for both you and Taishi to focus on your studies and graduate high school before you consider getting a job. And so because of that, I've had to pay for everything to keep ourselves comfortable.

"Now I was not comfortable with you getting your own apartment at first. Rather, I was completely against it. I still am. But in the end I gave in. So aside from managing my own house and food, I also pay for your apartment as well. I even gave you your own credit card in case of emergencies should anything happen."

She walked over to another table and picked up a few pieces of paper. "Now you may be asking 'Why do you bring this up Miss Tsukiko?' Well, the reason why I bring this up is because I have received this month's bills and… well, let's just say the stuff written down that I need to pay for are shocking."

Kai stood completely still as he realized what the whole thing was about. The credit card bills! He didn't think they would come in this early. But then he remembered that today was the 30th of July. Of course the bills would come in around this time.

"Now," Tsukiko kept going, "Let's see what the bills say what I have to pay." She cleared her throat. "It says I have to pay for double for the amount it usually costs for groceries. an entire wardrobe, and… a neck chain?! Like the ones used for necklaces?!"

The brunet averted his gaze away from her. He was not going to give in to the fear. "It was an emergency."

Without warning, Tsukiko rolled up the paper and smacked Kai on the head with it, causing the young male to wince from the impact. She leaned in, closing the distance between them, and stared Kai down. Kai could've sworn he could see hellish flames in her eyes.

"LIKE HELL IT IS!" she snapped, "WHAT WAS IT THAT COMPELLED YOU TO DO SOMETHING SO FUCKING STUPID?! Did you need new clothes? Did you want a certain neck chain? Was I not giving you enough money for food? Whatever it was, I wish you came to me and just asked!" Her expression changed as she noticed the way the brunet kept looking at her then breaking eye contact. Her eyes narrowed. "You're hiding something."

No I'm not," Kai answered bluntly, but in his head he continued to curse his luck. He didn't know how the older woman would react to him letting Aichi stay with him for the whole month. And normally he would be able to hide things really well; never giving away the fact that he was flustered from this confrontation. However, this was Tsukiko Miwa interrogating him; the very woman who had been taking care of him since he was small. It had become second nature for her to see through the brunet's stubbornness. She could easily read him like one of her favourite fantasy books. Maybe if he kept quiet, he wouldn't have to tell her.

"Well if you don't want to tell me, fine," she sighed in defeat, "I mean, it's not like I'm your real mother right? What right do I have to evade in your private life even though I've always been there to take care of you? I really do wish you would open up to me more. I'm always there for you, you know."

"Am I not allowed to keep secrets?"

The older woman shook her head. "I don't mind you keeping secrets so long as it doesn't make me worry about you. I made a promise to your mother that I would watch over you and keep you safe."

At the mention of his mother, Kai kept his gaze downward as his eyes turned grim. Tsukiko frowned, knowing full well what that look was. She took a deep breath and let out a big sullen sigh. She walked over the young man in front of her and placed her hand on his shoulder. The brunet showed no reaction to the sudden touch.

"Toshiki," Tsukiko continued, "You know your mother loved you very much." Her lips rose into a melancholic smile as tears began welling into her eyes, "She would always tell me how happy it made her that you were born. She would say 'Tsukiko, my little Toshiki is my precious treasure'. How beautifully her eyes gleamed whenever she talked about you! Though when it came to your father…"

She stopped the moment she saw the young man's expression darken at the mention of his father. Tsukiko's smile faded for a couple seconds in realization before it appeared once again. "I'm sorry; we're drifting off topic. I just get a little sentimental when I think of them, you know?"

Kai just kept silent. The topic of his parents was not one he liked to talk about, whether it'd be to a stranger, a friend; he didn't even like talking about it with Tsukiko, who knew the brunet's parents very well. Memories of them sparked so many emotions within the boy and he would always find himself in pain as a result. So he was not pleased when the older woman brought them up.

The silence between them was interrupted by the creaking of the stairs. They turned to see Miwa standing there holding a plate with an omelette. He grinned sheepishly. "Hope I wasn't interrupting anything." He walked over to an empty table beside Tsukiko's workplace and placed the plate there. "Oh yeah, Kai! You better hurry on home soon. You don't want to leave your little friend alone for too long."

The brunet glared at his blond friend. He had wanted to avoid bringing up Aichi in front of Tsukiko. Granted it was because he needed to get some stuff for Aichi that he used his emergency credit card but whether it made his current situation better or worse he didn't want to risk it. Besides, while Miwa might be easier to trick, Tsukiko was not.

"Friend?" He heard Tsukiko from behind, her voice in a threatening tone, "What 'friend'?"

Miwa realized his mistake upon seeing both his mom and best friend angry. He didn't think it was a big deal to bring up Kai's new friend but apparently he was wrong. If he had to guess, the fact that Kai has someone staying at his place is probably why he is in trouble. He knew he had to come up with something to fix this mess.

He continued smiling sheepishly as he began to scratch his head. "By new friend, I mean… Kai got himself a cat! Cute little thing!"

Tsukiko continued to glare. She was obviously not buying it. "I'm pretty sure I remember hearing that the apartment has a rule against pets. And even if it did allow them, Toshiki has bad luck when it comes to animals."

The blond male mentally cursed. He had forgotten the last time Kai tried getting in a close distance to the cat let alone try to pet it. It didn't end well. "Did I say cat? I meant… canary! A little blue eyed canary!"

Kai's eyes narrowed with his glare still in tact. That was sounding too close to the truth. Granted, this 'canary' was a person but he couldn't deny the fact that the person in question reminded him of a canary and did have golden wings like one.

And not to the brunet's surprise, the older woman was still not buying it. Instead, her glare intensified. If this continued, there would most likely be bloodshed in the room. Miwa glanced around the room, looking for something that could save him from his current situation. "Oh crap! I forgot to get you a drink with your lunch! Let me go get it!" He wasted no time before he dashed over to the stairs and out of the room, leaving Kai alone to deal with the furious woman.

Tsukiko turned her attention to the brunet, who continued to give off a stoic look. She crossed her arms and demanded in a cold, threatening voice; "Explain."

It seemed unlikely that Tsukiko would let Kai go back home with everything that happened. It wouldn't be such a big deal if he didn't worry about Aichi. Left with no other choice, he let out a big sigh before finally giving in. He began to tell Tsukiko everything, about how there was a kid around his age in trouble because he was not from the city and that he needed a place to stay until he could either get into contact with someone that could help him or at least until a month has passed. He neglected to tell her that the person in question was a winged being and that there was a group of guys that were after him but he decided to leave those bits out, mainly because he didn't want to be viewed as crazy for calling someone a winged being since they normally wouldn't exist, and the fact that he knew the blonde woman would worry if she were to learn that fact.

The older woman listened intentively to Kai's story. She still kept a displeased look but her eyes were starting to soften. That was a good sign, right? Once the young male had finished his story, Tsukiko sighed, keeping up her stern appearance.

"You know Toshiki," she began, "I'm still not thrilled about the fact that you misused your emergency credit card, whether it was for someone else or for yourself. If you needed more money, I would've appreciated it if you had actually talked to me about it. Like I said before; I am there for you if you need my help." Her blue eyes began to glimmer. "That being said…"

Before he could react, Kai found himself being pulled into a tight hug by the blonde woman. "OMIGODIAMSOHAPPYYOUMADEANEWFRIEND!" she spoke rapidly in excitement, "I always worried that you didn't have anyone else besides Taishi to hang out with but now you have another friend!"

Kai tried to force himself out of Tsukiko's grasp. He could feel his face turning blue as he found it difficult to breathe with her holding him like this. Since he was bigger than her, it wasn't hard to manage to break free. He tried to catch his breath before speaking up. "He and I aren't friends. I'm just helping him out for a bit."

"But you two _could_ be friends," Tsukiko pointed out, "A lot can happen in a month." She walked over to the table with her lunch on it and sat down, picking up the utensils there. "But yes, I just wanted to see how you were doing and what the whole deal with the bills were. I wish we could continue our chat but I need to eat and then get back on my project. I've been asked to make a few prototype costumes and showcase them to Mr. Nakamura."

The brunet raised his eyebrow. "Mr. Nakamura? Isn't he the guy who owns that old theatre a few blocks away; the one who asks a request from you twice a year?"

Tsukiko nodded. "The very same," She cut a piece of the omelette and took a bite. "He's told me how much he loves my designs for costumes so he insisted that I make some for his theatre."

That was understandable. Kai had to admit that the cosplays Tsukiko made truly had a unique feel to them. There was something magical about them, like they really were from a fairy tale. He also had to admire how realistic some of the masks were. If he didn't know better, he would say that they were heads of many different creatures. The older woman truly had a talent.

He placed his hands in his pockets and began walking to the stairs. "If that's everything, I'll be heading back."

"One more thing!" Tsukiko called out, still eating her omelette. She chewed it a little bit and swallowed before she continued. "I would like to meet the boy staying at your place tomorrow."

Kai stared in surprise. "Why?"

The blonde woman looked over at him sternly. "What do you mean 'why'? I want to know what kind of person he is. I'm not going to be comfortable with someone staying with you temporarily if I've never met the person in question."

"He doesn't come off as the dangerous type. He's a bit too small and timid to pose like a threat."

"Better to be safe than sorry. Besides, I'm not asking that I see him for the duration of his stay. Just meeting him once will be enough to satisfy me. Consider it a part of a debt you owe me for your credit card stunt."

Kai glared at the blonde haired woman before sighing. "Whatever." He climbed up the stairs just to meet Miwa, who was holding a cup of tea, at the top. The brunet walked past his friend and out the house, heading back to his apartment.

Miwa climbed down the stairs with the cup of tea he had made for Tsukiko. After all, he couldn't come back down without bringing down the drink he said he'd get. He walked over to the table where his mother was eating and placed the cup down, receiving a warm thank you.

"By the way," Tsukiko began after she took a sip of her tea, "Since you were the one that brought it up, I'd assume you knew about Toshiki's new friend?"

The blond male, who was about to head back upstairs, stopped dead in his tracks when asked that question. He looked over at his mother and grinned nervously. "Yeah, we met when I went over there to pick Kai up. It wasn't my intention to hide him from you though. Kai sure wanted to keep him a secret though…"

A gentle smile appeared on ruby lips. "It doesn't bother me if you two keep secrets just so long as it doesn't get you both into trouble. It's natural for one to keep a secret or two."

"Like the secret you're keeping from Kai?"

Tsukiko ignored her son's comment as she continued to eat her lunch. Miwa was about to head back upstairs when his thoughts since he met Aichi returned to him. He didn't know where and when but he felt like he knew Aichi from somewhere before. Was he a celebrity? No, Miwa was able to memorize every single celebrity he had heard about on the news or internet. He rubbed his temple, trying to remember. Tsukiko gazed up from her lunch and over at the boy who was groaning as he tried to recollect his thoughts.

"Is something wrong, sweetie?" she asked, expressing concern over her son.

Realizing what he must look like in front of the older woman, the blond grinned and shook his head. "I'm just trying to remember where I've seen him from."

"'Him'?"

"The kid Kai is helping out. He said he wasn't from the city, probably not even from the country, yet I feel like I've known him somewhere."

Tsukiko began to ponder. "Well, I have not met him yet so I can't say if I know him or not. Thinking about it, I don't think Toshiki ever told me his name neither did I ever think to ask. Or maybe he did mention it and I wasn't paying attention."

Miwa chuckled. "I highly doubt you could miss his name. It's not a very common name."

"What is his name?"

"I believe the kid said his name was Aichi."

The sound of metal clashing loudly rang out right after the blond male said that. Miwa quickly looked over to see that his mother had dropped the utensils back onto her plate and was now staring straight forward. Her eyes were widened and her complexion grew pale. Small whimpers were barely let out as she sat there paralyzed. Miwa rushed over to her, worried about what had happened to her, unaware that the cause of her state was what he had just said.

'Aichi…? It can't be…'


	9. Chapter 8: A Knight's Obligation

There's something tranquil about looking up at a snow white ceiling the moment you open your eyes. Your mind doesn't remember the pain and anxiety from before. Under a snow white ceiling, you feel relaxed, calm, at peace. It feels like you are floating in a world where there are no troubles; no worries. You are breathing with ease as your body is relieved of all the hurt. You wish that you could live like this for the rest of your life.

That was how she felt as soon as she woke up. She didn't know where she was or how she came to be there, but at that slight moment she didn't care. She was perfectly content as she stared up at the ceiling while lying on a soft bed. If she wanted to, she could probably fall back asleep. But she couldn't. No, it wasn't that she couldn't; it's more she wouldn't. Her intuition was telling her she needed to stay awake, for something was about to happen. She guessed right the moment she heard the door creaking open.

"Glad to see you're finally awake, Captain."

Misaki averted her gaze from the ceiling and looked over at the guests who had just came in. Standing there at the door were Naoki and Kamui. The two male knights were relieved upon seeing their captain finally awake from her slumber. They walked over to her, asking her how she felt. She simply responded with an 'I'm fine'.

"You gave us a scare when you appeared before us covered in blood," said Kamui.

Naoki nodded in agreement. "You passed out as soon you showed up, probably from all the blood you lost. Your wounds are fully healed by now, however you've been out for a whole day and a half."

She had been out for a day and a half? Misaki had wondered why her body felt heavy. She couldn't even sit up properly from the weight. She tried to recall the events that happened prior to now. She remembered how despite the deep cuts that were made onto her body she had managed to fly back to Naoki and Kamui, who had also come out of battle with injuries but they weren't as bad as their captain's. She also remembered that all the blood she lost with the amount of moving around she did had made her quite dizzy, thus the reason for why she fell unconscious the moment she reached the male knights.

Her eyes widened in despair as she regained her memories of what happened before that. The Black Winged Clan, the fact that they were after Aichi, a mysterious cavern underground that the lilac haired girl never knew existed, the lake that rested at the end of said cavern…

… And what had happened to Aichi.

"I must report to Her Majesty."

With haste, Misaki pulled the covers up from over her and tried to get out of bed, much to the surprise of her comrades. However the moment she tried to stand up, her legs trembled from the sudden movement and gave way. She would've crashed to the ground if Naoki hadn't caught her in time.

"Hey! You shouldn't be moving around so much after you've just got up Captain!" he cried out, "You should take time to rest a little more."

She glared at her subordinate. "There isn't any time to rest!" she cried out, "While we are here conversing like this, His Highness is… His Highness is…"

Misaki was trying her hardest to prevent herself from breaking out in tears. As captain of the knights of the Gold Winged Clan, she refused to show any weakness in front of anybody, especially in front of lower rank knights. Even so, that didn't stop her body from trembling in Naoki's arms. It was hard for the auburn haired knight to ignore it but figured it was best to not say anything. He didn't want to get in trouble for saying something he shouldn't.

"What happened to His Highness?" Kamui broke the ice, "Naoki and I can go tell Her Majesty in your stead."

The lilac haired girl shook her head. "No. This is something I must report myself. It was my responsibility to keep the prince safe… and I have failed. I must be the one who tells Her Majesty what happened."

The two knights stood in silence. The sight of their captain acting like this was very foreign to them, as if they were looking at another person who so happened to have the same face as her. The Captain Misaki they knew always had this air around her that appeared cold and unapproachable. She was stern and was not afraid to push the knights to their limit. There were even rumours that angering her would awaken horrible demons worse than the Void. Because of that, the rest of the knights always made sure to follow her orders in fear of her doing unimaginable torturous things to them if they failed to comply. But the person before them was not the same captain that brought terror to them, but rather she was a frail woman shaken up from the experience she had just gone through.

It was decided. Because they didn't want to see any harm happen to their captain and because she was stubbornly insistent that she go see the queen, they only agreed to let her go see her as long as the knights accompanied her so as she wouldn't collapse and that she was to remain in bed to properly rest right after. Misaki, although she didn't want to be treated as weak in front of her subordinates, knew she wasn't in the right state to argue. She could be stubborn but she could also be reasonable. She couldn't even walk at the moment without support. With no other alternative, she had no choice but to comply to their request.

Misaki was carried through the halls of the palace by both Naoki and Kamui, lending a shoulder each for their captain. Many of the knights and maids they passed by stared at them, showing deep concern for the leader of the knights who looked so vulnerable as she was carried. After walking through many hallways, they finally made it to the audience chamber.

Shizuka was caught off guard when she saw Misaki being carried by her knights. Concerned for the captain, she rushed over from her throne towards the lilac haired girl. "Captain! Should you be wandering around like this in your condition? I ask that you go back and get some rest."

The lilac haired girl shook her head. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but I had to come to you personally to apologize. I swore to both you and the princess that I would return Prince Aichi here safely… but I had failed to do so."

"What had happened to my son?"

Misaki looked up at the queen. To anyone else, the queen looked stern upon hearing the incompetence of not just a trusted knight, but the captain of all people. However, the lilac haired knight with her keen observation skills could tell that Shizuka was trying her hardest not to cry in front of them. She was afraid of what might be said to her regarding her son, praying that he had not shared the same fate of her late husband. She wouldn't know what to do if that was the case. Misaki explained everything that had happened that night; encountering the Black Winged Clan, the secret underground tunnel, word for word the discussion between Aichi and Ren, and the mysterious lake that turned to ice the moment the young prince fell in.

After hearing everything, rather than being perturbed by this, Shizuka appeared to be deep in thought. Hearing about a lake that turned to ice after someone went in; it sounded strangely familiar to her.

"Is there something you know about this You Majesty?" Misaki asked, "Is that lake dangerous or might we be assured that His Highness is safe?"

The teal haired queen broke out of her thoughts and looked over at the captain. "I cannot say if he is safe or not… but I think I do know what has happened." She said nothing more as she made her way out of the audience chamber. Unsure of what the queen was doing, Misaki became curious on what the queen knew. Considering she couldn't walk by herself without falling down, she was about to ask Naoki and Kamui if they could help her follow Shizuka. She didn't need to say anything though, for just as she was about to voice her request, the two male knights continued to carry her as they followed the queen.

They followed Shizuka into a room with nothing in it except for some steps that led to a mirror hanging on the wall and a lantern dimly lit on the ceiling providing some needed light. The knights never even knew this room existed before, not even Misaki who had memorized every room in the palace. But for what purpose did this bare room have to the queen and what did it have to do with Aichi's disappearance?

"If what you had told me is true, that lake is the legendary portal that send those that swim in its waters to Earth," Shizuka answered, as if she could read the knights' mind, "It was created for the purpose of heading to Earth should anything happen that would force us to return there. It had been kept hidden so as not to abuse its power. For extra measures, only Lord Takuto of the Silver Winged Clan has knowledge of the lake's location. After all, who better to keep an important secret such as this than the wisest winged being in the Cloudlands?"

Something was sitting right for Misaki. "If only Lord Takuto was supposed to know the location of the portal, then why does King Ren of the Black Winged Clan know about it?"

"He probably might've stumbled onto it like Aichi did," the queen replied, "That's the only reason I can think of."

"And what does this room have to do with the lake or regarding the prince's survival?"

"It's not the room itself," Shizuka looked over at the mirror. "In case something like this were to happen, I made sure to teach both my children what to do if they were to ever end up on Earth. If Aichi really is on Earth, then he should already know to do everything he can to hide the fact that he is a winged being and try to live among the humans until the portal opens up again."

"Uh," Kamui spoke up, "Not to be rude Your Majesty, but why couldn't His Highness simply come back?"

Shizuka frowned. "Remember when Captain Misaki said that the lake froze up after Aichi fell in? That was the portal closing itself, having used up its magic just to send him there. It will take a month before the portal opens up again."

A month?! The knights couldn't believe what they heard. So Aichi was now stuck in a foreign place for a month? They kept bombarding the queen with questions; asking things such as 'Is there an alternate way to get back to the Cloudlands from Earth?' or 'Was there a way they could protect him even if they weren't physically there?' But with each question asked, one thing could be noted; Aichi would have to protect himself for the whole month he is on Earth and there was no way he could return sooner.

It then occurred to them that they had no idea on what this room's involvement was with Aichi on Earth. Before they could ask, Shizuka answered as if she could read their minds. She told them that it wasn't necessarily the room itself that was important, but it was the mirror in the room that was. That mirror would be Shizuka's way to contact Aichi and see if he was safe. She was not sure if her son had been trying to contact her during the time he had been down on Earth, but she knew she would find out after getting through to him herself. The queen climbed the steps that led to the mirror and used the spell that was needed for the mirror to work. She only hoped that her son would be able to respond.

XxXxX

Aichi woke up from his nap after some time had passed. He didn't know how long, but he knew it was enough to re energize him once more. He sat up from the bed, glancing at everything within the apartment. It seemed like Kai had not returned yet. Did something happen to him? No, he was sure Kai was fine. He was probably just a little late.

His thoughts were interrupted with the sound of his stomach growling. That was right; Kai left before lunchtime so they weren't able to have lunch. Aichi got up and walked over to the kitchen; pondering about what he should eat. Aichi scourged through all the cupboards and the fridge, looking for something that looked satisfying.

"Aichi?"

Startled by the sound of someone calling his name, the blue haired boy rushed to the hallway. Was Kai home? He didn't even hear the door open. But when he checked, he found the hallway to be completely empty. Aichi stood there, puzzled by the peculiar feeling. He was sure he heard someone calling for him.

"Aichi? Aichi? If you can hear me, please respond."

There it was again. Someone _was_ calling out to him. And he knew for sure that it wasn't Kai. That voice did sound familiar though; it sounded like a voice he had heard a lot of his whole life. He began looking around frantically, desperate to find out who it was calling him.

At the corner of his eye, Aichi saw an unusual glow. He turned out to see that it was coming from the TV. It was strange though, for he was sure the TV had been off this entire time. But before he could walk over to turn it off, a familiar face started to take form on the screen. He couldn't still be dreaming, could he? Was he really seeing what he thought he was seeing?

"Aichi? Is that really you?"

He had no doubts; that was his mother's face on the screen. Had he finally found a way to communicate to the Gold Winged Clan? He rushed over to the TV, his hands pressed on the screen as he could once again see his mother's face.

"Mother!" he cried, "You don't know how glad I am to see you. Nothing has happened to the Gold Winged Clan, right? What about Misaki? Is she alright?"

Shizuka was happy to see her son right before her. She wanted nothing more than to pull the young boy into her arms and hold him the way any mother would hold her child. But the touch of cold glass reminded her of how far apart they were. Reminded that she had been asked a question, she gave a gentle smile and responded. "Nothing has happened to the Gold Winged Clan. And Captain Misaki is slowly recovering from the injuries she had. She'll be back to her usual self within a few days."

Aichi felt relieved upon hearing that. He let out a deep relaxed sigh as he hung his head low. He had been deeply concerned for the lilac haired girl's safety. Had anything happen to her, Aichi would have been shouldered with guilt, not just because she almost got killed because of him, but because their last time together ended on such a sour note. Now that he knew she was safe, there was still a chance for them to rekindle their friendship, to let bygones be bygones, and by a month's time be reunited with nothing but smiles. "I'm glad that she's safe."

"I am glad that _you_ are safe," said Shizuka, "You have no idea how worried I was the whole time I didn't know where you were. But now that I see that you are on Earth, all I can do is hope that you can return safely to the Cloudlands within a month's time."

The boy haired boy looked up and straight into his mother's eyes; his own cerulean eyes gleaming with determination. "You don't need to worry, Mother," he assured her, "I promise that I will come home soon." That confident gleam died down as he remembered something important. He had been filled with joy seeing his mother again he forgot that he needed to ask her something.

"Mother?" the young prince continued, "Are there supposedly any other members of the Gold Winged Clan here on Earth?"

That question caught Shizuka by surprise. She had never thought her son would ask that. "Not that I am aware of," she replied, "Why do you ask?"

So there weren't any. Aichi felt disappointed that there weren't any allies from his own clan here on Earth. "I ask because if there were, I could probably stay with them until the month ended."

"Where are you staying now?"

The big question. The blue haired boy knew that his answer would not please his mother, but he didn't want to hide the truth from her. He took a deep breath. "I'm currently… staying with a human."

At first, there was no response. All the queen did was blink a few times in reaction to what the prince had just saying. She repeated what he had said as a question, wanting confirmation. Aichi nodded hesitantly. Shizuka sighed. She didn't look angry but she did look disappointed.

"Aichi," she spoke disapprovingly, "It's too dangerous to stay under the same roof as a human. What if he were to find out you are a winged being?"

The blue haired boy laughed sheepishly as he scratched his head. "Yeah… about that… well, he… kinda already knows. I was unconscious when I got to Earth and…"

Misaki, who could hear the entire conversation from where she was, pushed out of her subordinates' hold and rushed over to the mirror in anger. "Your Highness!"

Aichi was shocked to see the captain there at first but his shock quickly turned to worry when he noticed her stumbling. Naoki rushed over and managed to catch her before she fell to the ground. Shizuka moved down the steps, for she could tell that Aichi and Misaki wanted to talk to each other, but stayed close enough since her presence is needed for the mirror to work.

"Misaki," Aichi cried out, "Are you okay? You look pale. You should rest or something."

"How can I rest knowing that you are trapped there on Earth for a whole month while with a human that knows who you really are?!" the lilac haired girl responded in frustration, "Time has erased the human's memories of the winged people to the point where our existence is considered a myth to them. If you have been found out, who knows what kind of danger you'll encounter. You must find another place to stay in until the portal opens up again."

"Where else should I stay? I have no idea about how to survive down here and there aren't any other members of the Gold Winged Clan down here. I don't have any other options."

"But that human knows you are a winged being! He could try to hurt you!"

"I know he won't."

"How do you know?!"

"I just know!"

Everyone in the room was shocked to hear the prince raise his voice like that. Misaki stared at Aichi, who stared back at her with a confident expression. She couldn't understand why he would go so far to protect a human, especially one who he had barely known in such a short time. Aichi continued on; his expression showing no signs of faltering.

"I know it sounds strange," he began, "I've only known him for a couple days so it's naive of me to trust him as much as I do. But despite this, when I ask myself if I can trust him or not, I feel certain that I can. He hadn't done anything bad to me in the time I've been here so far and he's gone through so much to help me."

Misaki managed to regain her composure after that statement, but it didn't mean that his words didn't affect her in some way. "Even so, that doesn't necessarily mean you can trust him. He could be luring you into some false sense of security-!"

"That's not the only reason." Aichi's expression softened as he brought his hand close to his chest. "I don't know why, but something inside of me keeps telling me that this is not the first time we've met. It's crazy since he's a human and I've never even came here to Earth until just this recently. Even so…"

Shizuka looked up at the mirror in surprise. Aichi's words had brought cause for alarm. How _could_ Aichi find a human familiar? There were very few winged people around that knew of the lake's existence and even less of those that know the lake's location and humans most certainly have no way of going to the Cloudlands. The only way Aichi could find a human was if the human reminded him of someone else or…

Her eyes widened. It couldn't be _that_ , could it? It was certainly possible given the circumstances. If that was the case, was Aichi truly safe? Misaki was thinking the same thing; she was unsure if she could really say that Aichi was safe with the person he was staying with. She was about to object more when Aichi's face returned to the determined look he had before.

"Misaki," Aichi looked straight into her eyes as he continued, "I understand that everyone is worried about me. I'm sorry to make you all feel this way. I never wanted to cause grief to you all. However, given the circumstances I only have one thing I wish to ask of you; to trust that I will be able to make it home in my own way." He grinned. "Besides, how can I be worthy of becoming the Gold Winged Clan's future king and be responsible of protecting everyone if I can't even protect myself?"

"Your Highness…"

"Don't think of it as me in danger. Consider this a test of how I can fare on my own. Or do you really think I'm not capable?"

The lilac haired girl shook her head. "I'm not doubting your skills, Your Highness. It's just…" She wanted to say that she was worried about his well being. She knew very well that not only was the prince well trained in swordplay and very intelligent in academics, he could also be very gullible. She worried that Aichi's very trusting nature could lead him into a danger he wouldn't be able to escape from. And the worst thing about it would be that she wouldn't be there to help him if that happened. She hadn't felt this helpless in a long time, not since _back then_.

She needn't say anything more though, for Aichi had known her long enough to tell that she was worried about him. He frowned. He was unsure of what he could say to ease her concern. He didn't think there was anything he could say. However, there was something he _wanted_ to say; something he felt important to say.

"I'm sorry, Misaki."

Misaki's eyes widened from the sudden apology. "No, I should be sorry. I should trust you."

"No, not for that," The blue haired boy averted his gaze downward, finding it hard to keep eye contact with her, "Back at the library… those words I said… I really didn't mean it… I was just so frustrated that-!"

"Your Highness."

Aichi looked up to see Misaki staring straight at him with her hand pressed against the glass of the mirror. If she was really there with him, that hand would've rested on his shoulder, to gently assure him that she had no ill feelings towards him. But they were in two completely different worlds, only able to see each other through a looking glass. There was only another way she could express herself and let her feelings get through to him.

"It's fine," she replied, "We can talk about this another time. Just… come back home safe."

It got silent. Aichi didn't expect Misaki to say anything like that. Well, truth be told he did, but the way she worded it was different than he thought she'd say. She said to come home safe, but didn't bring up the importance he was to the kingdom or anything like that. Could he take it to mean that she personally wanted to see him safe; that like him she really cared about him, not as a prince and future king, but as a friend?

Not long afterwards did Aichi nod. Both prince and knight remained like that until Shizuka climbed back onto the steps. "Sorry to interrupt but the magic won't last much longer."

It was true; they had been conversing for a while. With little time left, they said their farewells before the connection between them disappeared, returning the objects of communication back to the way they were. Misaki still had her hand on the mirror, clenching it into a fist as she prayed for Aichi's safety.

After that, Misaki was carried back to her room where she could rest. After all, she could barely stand in her current state and it wouldn't be good for the kingdom to let her weakness be shown so easily. Plus now that she knew that Aichi was alright for the time being, she was a little more at ease. The moment she laid down on her bed, she slowly began to fall asleep, making sure she rested to bring her energy back.

Once they were sure their captain was resting, Naoki and Kamui quietly left the room. They walked around in silence until they got to the courtyard. After that, they didn't know what to do. Their prince was on Earth, their captain was bedridden. What could they do in that situation? Were they supposed to just sit around until Misaki was better? Until Aichi returned to the Cloudlands?

And then something occurred to Naoki. It really did surprise him to see Misaki act the way she did. Compared to her usual persona, she acted more reckless and overly emotional. And the trigger for that change was the trauma of what happened to the prince. He brought this up to Kamui while also wondering out loud why this would be the case, especially since it is a rule among knights to not let their personal feelings get in the way of protecting the kingdom and the royal family.

"It is because their relationship is more than just one between royal and knight."

Both boys turned around to see Shingo there. The royal advisor had a serious look on his face, obviously aware of the situation at hand. He walked towards the knights, his hands resting behind his back.

"This was something I had learned from my grandfather who was the previous royal advisor before he retired," Shingo began, "I don't know all the details but apparently His Highness and the captain are childhood friends. They've known each other almost their entire lives. From what I gather, the captain's parents were also once knights, which is possibly how the two were able to meet like that."

"I had no idea they were that close," said Kamui, "No wonder the captain acted the way she did."

The royal advisor nodded, pushing up his glasses. "The captain knows very well there's nothing we can do at the moment. All we can really do is wait until His Highness manages to return home safely himself."

Naoki lowered his head. He felt guilty about the whole thing. All he had wanted to do was the help the prince but this had to happen instead. If he had actually followed orders and made sure Aichi didn't leave the castle instead of making that stupid compromise, then this wouldn't have had to happen. If only he could do something to fix this, like if he knew how to bring Aichi back to the Cloudlands sooner or if the prince was stuck for a whole month like he's supposed to and he does manage to come back safely, to do something that would prevent the situation from repeating itself.

And then it came to him; the story of the Red Winged Clan. King Ren had told them that the Red Winged Clan was supposed to be real, but were exiled due to something called 'the tool'. Thinking about it, it seemed like Aichi already had the feeling the Red Winged Clan was real, but did not know anything else about them. It would be a lie to say that this mystery did not make the auburn haired knight curious, but his gut was telling him that uncovering this mystery could possibly be very important. Plus, maybe the prince would actually stay put once he learns everything?

"Hey, four eyes!" Naoki spoke up, "What do you know of the Red Winged Clan?"

Both Shingo and Kamui stared at the auburn haired knight in surprise. What made him bring up that topic? Adjusting his glasses and regaining his composure, Shingo replied, "Just about as much as anyone else would know; they are a clan of myth. Why would you ask such a stupid question?"

"What if the Red Winged Clan was actually real?"

"That's absurd! There is no proof that they exist!"

"The night of the incident, I came along with His Highness to these castle ruins. His Highness seemed sure that that was the Red Winged Clan's castle, but when we bumped into that Black Winged King guy, he confirmed His Highness's suspicions."

"So wait," Kamui spoke up, "Does that mean the Red Winged Clan really _does_ exist?"

"Wait just a moment!" Shingo interrupted, "If the Red Winged Clan truly isn't fictitious like we were to believe, then where are they now?"

Naoki shook his head. "I was told that they were exiled… I don't know where though. But I'm going to find out!"

The auburn haired knight was about to turn around and walk away before Shingo swiftly glided over and blocked the knight's path. "Now hold on, you idiot knight! I don't know if you are aware but King Ren is quite infamous for his deceiving nature. He could be sending you on a wild goose chase."

"But suppose that-!"

Shingo brought his hand to cover Naoki's mouth. "That is the key word; suppose! That does not necessarily mean that the existence of the Red Winged Clan is a fact."

Naoki grabbed Shingo's wrist and forced his hand off his mouth. "Maybe, maybe not. I'd still rather see the truth than be kept in the dark about it."

The royal advisor sniggered. "A knight has more important things to do than go on some silly adventure just because he's curious."

"I'm not doing this for myself," Naoki stared at Shingo with a determined look, "I am doing this for His Highness. He constantly went out of his way to free himself from the binds everyone kept him under because he wanted to know the truth behind the Red Winged Clan. I can't just sit back and laze around while there's something like that troubling His Highness. As a knight of the Gold Winged Clan, it is my obligation and duty to see to it that His Highness is not distressed, no matter the reason."

"Yes, that's a knight's obligation but…" Shingo was at a loss for words. Usually he would be able to argue with Naoki no problem due to the level of his intelligence. But at this moment, the auburn haired male looked very serious and sure, talking like an actual knight and not some imbecile in armour. Could he have finally matured? No, no one could possibly mature like that in such a short time. Even so, there was nothing else to explain it.

With nothing but silence answering him, Naoki continued; his eyes glowing with confidence. "I'm going to search for those answers to help put His Highness at ease, and you ain't gonna stop me."

"And just where will you find them?" Shingo, who had finally recovered from his surprise, asked.

Naoki just shook his head. "I don't know, probably back at those ruins? I'll figure it out" Noticing that he wasn't gonna get anything but backlash for his choice of action, he continued to walk away.

"Wait!"

Kamui, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke up. He ran over towards Naoki and stared up at him. "Listen Naoki! Those Black Winged guys could still be there at the ruins. Who knows what they'd do to you if you go there."

He had to admit that the younger male had a point. He hated to admit it, but the Black Winged Clan definitely had a lot of strong warriors among them. He could still remember the battle he had against the big guy, the one the king called 'Tetsu'. Even when Kamui rushed in to help, it wasn't enough to take that guy down. It was a good thing though he had a sense of morality and honour, otherwise he would've killed them both. Instead, he only wounded them just enough to call the fight over before backing off and leaving to search for his king. Naoki could feel his entire body ache just remembering everything. But if it was a bad idea to head to the castle ruins in case the Black Winged Clan was there, where else could he go to find the answers he needed?

The raven haired male continued. "However, I do know some guys who might be able to help. I'll even take you there myself!"

Both Naoki and Shingo were surprised by Kamui's words. "But Kamui, what about the princess?" the auburn haired knight asked.

Kamui nodded. "It's true that I decorate myself to protecting the princess."

"I think you mean 'dedicate', Kamui," Shingo corrected him.

"Whatever! For me, protecting the princess is most important! But I will still do anything to help His Highness if there's something I can do. And if what Naoki said is true, this could not only help His Highness, but possibly the entire kingdom too. After all, it distresses both Her Majesty and the princess when His Highness goes off like this."

This time it was Naoki who was at a loss for words. He never thought that anyone would be willing to help him. He couldn't stop a big smile from creeping up his face. He was happy that he had a comrade joining him and thus he didn't have to do this alone. He placed his hand on Kamui's shoulder.

"It's good to have you on board!" Naoki exclaimed, giving him a thumbs up. Kamui grinned and nodded, returning the gesture by giving him a thumbs up of his own. They were about to leave until…

"NOW WAIT JUST A MOMENT!"

Shingo, who was fuming from the two knights ignoring him, stormed over towards them and halted them by grabbing the collars of their armour. "You'd be mistaken if you think you can just leave without orders from Her Majesty or the captain!"

Naoki scratched his head. "Well obviously if we ask, neither of them will let us leave."

"Exactly! Therefore you must stay put!"

"Well, sometimes you've got to break rules if you want to do good."

"You call that 'doing good'?! I call it being rebellious!"

"Shingo."

Naoki was looking straight in the royal advisor's eyes. Shingo was trying to avoid his gaze but failed. He did not like the way the auburn haired knight was staring at him. It made him feel rather uncomfortable, like as if he was in the wrong or something. But there was no way he was in the wrong, right? He was trying to keep everything orderly so the kingdom wouldn't fall apart. There was no way he was going to let a couple of knights disrupt that order just because… they wanted to do something that may be helpful to the prince...

"Shingo," Naoki repeated himself, "Don't you want to do anything to help His Highness? Or are you that obsessed with following whatever order keeps you from doing what you feel might be right?"

The royal advisor just stood there in thought. He didn't know how to respond to that. After a minute he did take a breath as he was about to retort, but nothing came out. There had been something nagging inside of him that something was wrong, but he chose to be blind about it. He treated the prince's actions as a form of grief for his late father or a rebellious state considering his age. Never had he thought that prince would be desperately searching for answers of something that had been kept hidden from everyone and with reasons unknown. He let out a sigh of surrender as he kept his gaze away.

"I can't promise I won't say anything about this if this is addressed by either Her Majesty or the captain," he replied.

Naoki smiled. He knew Shingo wouldn't be completely keen on the idea, but it was assuring that he wasn't trying to intervene anymore. He gave his thanks before he and Kamui flew off to their destination. Shingo was left alone in the courtyard, looking up at the sky. He let out another sigh.

"I really hope that what you're doing is for the best."


	10. Chapter 9: Night of Amusement

Not long after the call had ended, Aichi remained sitting in front of the TV. He was happy to see that not only was his clan still safe, but Misaki was okay too. However, being able to talk to both his mother and best friend had only just made him more aware of how far away he was from home. He was once again hit hard with grief.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the door unlocking. He looked up and over towards the hallway to see Kai had finally returned. The brunet let out a deep sigh as he was relieved to be back home. While it wasn't one of his most pleasant visits, it was not the worst he had gone through. Even so, he was now faced with the problem of Tsukiko wanting to see Aichi. He didn't know how the blue haired male would react to it. Judging by what Kai had observed from the winged being's personality, he didn't seem like someone who would mind if it meant helping out someone. However, he couldn't assume that he would say yes. After all, the younger male did have his own problems.

Teal eyes scanned the entire room until they landed on Aichi, who had averted his gaze downward. "Welcome back…" the blue haired male greeted him in a voice that was almost inaudible.

Kai raised an eyebrow. He was unsure what was going on. "Why are you sitting there when the TV isn't even on?" he questioned the younger male as he walked over to the kitchen to grab himself a drink of water.

Aichi kept silent for a bit as he fidgeted with his fingers. Eventually, he answered. "My clan contacted me. They're fine. Though it seems I'm the only one who's on Earth so…"

"I already said it was fine for you to stay here until the month is over." The human male drank his water. "So what's the problem? Your clan contacted you and they're doing fine right? You've been worrying about it so shouldn't you be relieved now?"

The currently non winged male nodded. "I should… but I'm not. I don't know; I was so happy to see them and then when it was time to end our conversation since it no doubt takes a good amount of magic to use a spell like that, I felt sad since I probably won't be able to talk to them in a while and I…"

"You're homesick."

Aichi snapped his head up and looked over at Kai, completely surprised the brunet considered it. However it was not long before his head looked downward again, his expression in a dejected state once again. "... I am."

It didn't show on his face, but Kai was surprised to see the younger male confess his homesickness so easily like that. "You're already like this and it's only the second day. If you keep up like this, you won't be able to survive a month."

The moment he heard those words, the blue haired boy lowered his head even more, ashamed with how close to the truth they were. "You're right… I'm pathetic."

Kai let out a huge sigh. It was not his intention to make the other male feel worse. He was relieved the boy was not crying though. Even so, there was no way he could deal with this for an entire month. For both of their sakes he needed to figure out how to cheer the blue haired male up; to keep his spirit up for the rest of his stay.

He put his now empty glass into the sink and headed out the kitchen and to the door. "Get your shoes on."

Aichi was in complete surprise. He looked up to see that Kai was putting his own shoes back on. What could the human male be planning? The blue haired boy just kept sitting there as he watched the other male get himself ready.

Once he was all set, Kai looked back at Aichi. His visage expressed a bit of annoyance. "Well come on!" he exclaimed, "We haven't got all day."

Seeing no more reason to hesitate, Aichi got up and rushed over to the brunet, hurrying to get himself ready. As he was getting his shoes on, he looked back up at Kai who was leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets.

"But what if we bump into the Black Winged Clan again?" Aichi asked. Kai didn't answer, and as soon as he saw that the blue haired boy was ready, he opened the door and they went out.

As they walked through the bustling streets of people going off doing their own business, there were no words said between the two boys. Aichi followed closely behind Kai, wary of everything around him. He was not sure if Kyou and his companions would show up to take him away and that made him uneasy. But as they continued to walk, the blue haired male was able to relax. He found himself believing that they wouldn't be able to have the guts to capture him with the amount of people around. Even so, it was still a mystery as to why Kai wanted them to go out and why. Building up the courage, Aichi finally managed to ask him.

"Where are we going?"

The brunet did not stop walking nor did he look over at the other male. However, he didn't ignore him either for he spoke up and gave his answer. "Anywhere you want to go."

That confused Aichi. Wherever he wanted to go? "But I don't know of any places I'd want to go."

"Then I guess we're taking a long walk."

Curiouser and curiouser the human male appeared; so mysterious and nonchalant. Everything about him was unpredictable, including his reasoning. It was fascinating how someone like him had such a cold exterior and yet express so much kindness.

On and on they walked with no set destination decided. There were no words exchanged between them, with Kai not being the talkative type and Aichi who had no idea what to discuss. They had been strolling for a while when something caught Aichi's eye. Kai stopped the moment he noticed the blue haired male was no longer right behind him. He saw the shorter male staring at something in awe. He walked over to him, teal eyes looking over at what the other male was looking at.

Right there was that popular amusement park Kai had been hearing people talk about at school before summer break started. He didn't remember details, but he did remember hearing that it had been open since the middle of April. The brunet himself was not that interested in it so he never went to check it out, but it wouldn't hurt to go if that was really what Aichi wanted to do.

"You want to go in?" Kai asked, snapping the other male out of his trance.

Aichi looked up at him in surprise. "What? No! I mean, we don't have to! I mean it would be nice since I've never been to that type of place before but…!" His words began to fade away as he noticed Kai walking towards the theme park, gesturing him to follow. The blue haired male dashed over to catch up to him before slowing back down to a walk. After they reached the admission booth and paid for their way in, they got inside.

The amusement park already looked big from outside the gates, but Aichi had no idea of how enormous the place was. There were so many booths of different varieties along with some unusual contraptions and small buildings scattered around the place. Kai explained that they were called 'attractions', though some specific ones were called 'rides'. Everywhere they went, Aichi noticed all the big cheerful smiles around them. He had never seen anyone be this happy before. He also noticed the excitement the children had just by roaming around, begging their parents to go to different sections of this giant place. Just what kind of wondrous place was this to cause many different forms of happiness to these people?

They went to many different places. First, they rode on the carousel. It was the first thing that caught the blue haired male's attention as he first thought those were real horses. He was relieved that they weren't and had fun when he went on it.

After that was a haunted house. They only went in there due to the smaller boy's curiosity, even after Kai warned him it was a 'haunted' house. During their run in, Aichi did get spooked with everything jumping out and did get a little scared when it came to bats and ghosts. However as for most of the 'monsters' they encountered, Aichi greeted them with a "Hello" and "Have a nice day"; the 'monsters' left dumbfounded after the boys passed them. Kai had an amused smirk on his face; the idea of monsters getting flustered from a guy like Aichi was hilarious to him. They were probably not that scary in the eyes of a winged being.

They then continued walking around some more after they grabbed some cotton candy, primarily for Aichi. The blue haired boy stared astonishingly at the strange food, for it reminded him of a pink cloud. He took a bite out of it, eyes widening in surprise as the floss melted in his mouth until all that remained was the faint taste. Aichi hummed in great satisfaction, for he could never get over how good human food tasted to him.

After Aichi finished his cotton candy, they spotted a souvenir store. Curious as to what kind of things they sold, the younger male grabbed Kai's arm and dragged him over to the store in eagerness. The blue haired boy was marveling everything he saw inside the store; simple things that article of clothing and food, to more strange objects he was not accustomed to. His eyes found themselves gazing over at the variety of hats and he walked over to the stand to try them on.

He tried on a bunch of different hats; baseball caps, beanies, hats with ears, cowboy hats, sombreros, top hats, a variety of different sizes, each with the amusement park's logo on it. He then spotted a crown among the different hats and tried it on. When he looked at his reflection in the mirror, his smile changed into a dispirited frown. Looking at himself wearing a crown reminded him of his royal heritage of a place he was far away from. It was painful to look at yet he couldn't move his gaze.

Suddenly, the crown was replaced with a pirate hat. He turned around to see Kai putting the same crown back where it was found. Aichi stared at him in disbelief. He didn't think he could get used to how kindly this one individual human treats him, even knowing his origin.

While the brunet was distracted with putting the hat back, the blue haired male began to grin as he thought of something. Out of the blue, the human male felt something stretching behind him to place something on his head followed by a soft giggle. He turned to face the mirror, wondering what was put on his head to be so funny. On top of his head was a headband with pink rabbit ears. Not only did he look ridiculous with that on, he felt ridiculous. He looked over at Aichi, who stopped chuckling in fear of angering the other male.

However, Kai did something unexpected. Rather than make a big fuss about it, he simply walked over back to the wall he was leaning on before the whole incident with Aichi and the crown and went back to leaning on it, ignoring the pink rabbit ears on his head. The younger male smiled although still felt a little guilty. He took off the pirate hat and put it away then grabbed another pair of rabbit ears; baby blue coloured ones, and placed it on his head before standing beside the human male. Kai was absolutely stunned seeing Aichi standing beside him wearing rabbit ears and smiling, but it wasn't a bad thing.

Once they finished checking out the shop and put the rabbit ears away, they went over to the roller coaster. At first Aichi was not sure what to make of it when they were riding up to the top. But the moment the roller coaster went down, a vast array of emotions were expressed on his face; fear, shock, excitement. When the ride was done and they were getting out, the blue haired boy was jumping around with glee, laughing.

"That was so fun!" Aichi exclaimed, "I never knew something like that could ever exist!"

Kai kept silent. He felt he didn't need to say anything, for he was perfectly content listening to the former winged being talk. There was something about his light cheerful voice that sounded like a lovely melody to him. It was soothing to his ears.

"OH GOD! I THINK I'M GONNA BE SICK!"

Aichi's sweet voice was interrupted when someone pushed past them and ran over to the nearby garbage bin. The person in question then hunched over the bin and began letting out rough gagging noises.

"Is he going to be okay?" Aichi asked, concerned for the guy that was vomiting in the garbage.

Kai shrugged. "He probably ate a lot before he got on the roller coaster. Big mistake on his part."

The blue haired boy looked around, noticing as people were ignoring the sick man. Although some would glance over to see what was going on, they would just walk past. He looked up at the brunet. "Shouldn't we check to see if he's really alright?"

"Are you sure you want to help someone you don't know?"

"Even if I don't know him, I am deeply concerned about his well being. You could call it my nature."

Before Kai could argue against it, Aichi made his way to the puking male. Unsure on how to get his attention, he hesitated before gently tapping his shoulder. The man had stopped, trying to catch his breath as he lifted his head up from the bin, though it was hard to tell if the blue haired male had his attention or not.

"Excuse me," Aichi spoke up. "Are you alright?"

The man replied with his head lowering back into the garbage bin, letting out more vomit. Apparently he was not alright. Aichi began to gently rub the man's back, hoping it would help ease him. Kai just stood there and watched, being cautious on the whole situation. Thinking about it, he didn't get a clear look of the guy's face but he looked familiar somehow.

After a bit of time had passed, the sick male finally let everything out of his system. His face still looked a little green, but it wasn't heaving anymore. That was good at least. He looked up at Aichi and stood straight up, pretending like he wasn't vomiting like a waterfall a few minutes ago.

"Thanks a lot, though it wasn't necessary for you to do those things," the man replied. He leaned in on the shorter male, getting a good look at him. "Even so, you look like you could be rather useful. How about you become one of my apprentices?"

Aichi stared at him in confusion. "Excuse me?"

The taller male looked shocked. "You mean you don't know who I am?!"

"Um… no…?" Aichi was unsure of how to respond. Was he supposed to know who he is? Did Kai know who he was? Was the brunet watching what was going on?

Suddenly, the man placed his hand on the smaller boy's shoulder, giving off a disappointed, weary smile. "I feel so bad for you. You must be rather uneducated if you don't know who I am. I am the greatest guy to exist in the entire world!" He brought his hand to his chin as if posing for a picture. "Girls line up to be with me and guys want to _be_ me."

The blue haired boy cocked his head to the side. "Is… that so?" Truth be told, he didn't see anything that made this man that talented. If he had to say who he felt fit that description to a T, that would be Kai. But then again he didn't know how humans viewed a person. He wouldn't give his opinion out loud though. He didn't want to get on this guy's bad side. Not only was he bigger, but Aichi had to admit he looked scarier than he first thought.

The taller male grinned. "Absolutely! There's not a single person out there that's better than me! Which is why one would consider it an honour to become one of my apprentices!"

"Aichi."

The two turned around to see Kai standing there. He had some sort of annoyed look on his face. "If this idiot is fine now, then we should get going."

Seeing Kai appear out of the blue like that surprised Aichi. Then again, he figured the brunet might've been feeling agitated with how long Aichi had been taking. The blue haired boy looked over at the formerly vomiting male, almost about to tell him that he needed to go, when he noticed him glaring at Kai.

"So... we finally meet again, Toshiki Kai!" He snarled. "You thought you could keep running away. Well too bad for you! It was only a matter of time before we'd cross paths again. That's right; today's the day when I, Katsumi Morikawa, finally defeat you!"

Kai let out a inaudible groan. Why did the puking idiot have to be Morikawa of all people? "We have been over this; I am not interested in whatever stupid thing you want."

Morikawa simply snickered. "That excuse might've worked in the past but not today!" He then did something completely unexpected. He wrapped his arm around Aichi's shoulder and pulled him close, surprising the blue haired boy as he let out a soft gasp. "This is your girlfriend, right? Well if you don't want anything bad to happen to her, I'd suggest you do what I say!"

"You do realize he's a guy, right?"

The raven haired male looked back at the kid he was holding. "You a guy?" Aichi nodded. Morikawa looked back at Kai. "Let's try this again. If you don't want anything bad to happen to your… Wait, what _is_ your relationship?"

"Acquaintances," Kai replied.

"Really?" Morikawa scratched his head with his free hand, "Do acquaintances go to amusement parks with each other? Aren't amusement parks where you go with a group of friends or a date or with your family?"

Kai crossed his arms. "So then why are you here? I don't see the guy that's often tagging along with you."

"Izaki? He had things to do back home. Was feeling bored, had nothing at home to do, and figured 'Hey! It's not often I go to an amusement park!' And here I am."

"And so you decided to harass us."

Morikawa looked offended. "Hey! That was not part of the plan! And besides, it's your fault for never accepting my challenges! If you had, then I would have never resorted to such measures!"

"Hate to break it to you, but I _had_ accepted your challenges before. Not my fault that you can't do anything right."

That did it. Kai's comment caused Morikawa to fume up; his face red in anger. His grip on Aichi grew tighter, causing the blue haired boy to cry out in pain. "I'm not gonna say this again, Toshiki Kai! Accept my challenge or who knows what I'll do to your pal here!"

Kai stared at the aggressive raven haired male. Despite acting tough, he knew that Morikawa was harmless. He then looked over at Aichi. The young blue haired male had been staring at him with a panicked expression. Unlike the brunet, he was unsure of what Morikawa would do, seeing him as this scary guy who could hurt him if angered. Kai sighed, for he knew he had no choice.

"What's the challenge?"

Morikawa smirked. "I knew you would come around."

The two of them decided that the challenge between them will be the basketball game at the amusement park's arcade. The rules were this; both would be given three basketballs. Whoever could shoot the most balls in the hoop is the victor. Morikawa was determined to win, bragging about how he was going to cream Kai to the ground. The brunet made no retort back at him, believing it unnecessary to stoop down to his level. Aichi was forced to just stand nearby and observe. Believing Morikawa's words of being the greatest guy in the world, unaware of the raven haired male's true character, he worried for Kai's wellbeing. How he hated being helpless in this situation.

After they paid up front to the employee running the game, their competition began. Morikawa went first, grabbing the ball and readying himself. He then shot the ball. It went through the hoop. He looked over to the two other males with him. Aichi was already concerned for Kai, but now he was completely terrified. Kai didn't look like he was fazed though. Rather, he looked pretty bored. The raven haired male grew irritated that he didn't get the reaction he wanted from the guy he considered his sworn rival. Well, he was confident in the next two shots. He would get them in no problem.

He made his second shot. He missed. Morikawa grew flustered. "Th-That is just one shot! I still have one more!" He made the third shot. He once again missed. He looked back at Kai and Aichi with a confident smirk, acting as if it wasn't a big deal. "Well, I made one shot! That is impressive in itself. Betcha can't beat that Kai!"

Kai was still expressionless. He wanted to get this over with so that idiot would shut up and he could just spend the rest of his day in peace. He walked up to pick up the ball and readied himself. Both Aichi and Morikawa were watching; Aichi hoping that Kai would get those shots in, Morikawa convincing himself that the brunet would not be able to make any of the shots. Ball in hand, Kai made the first shot. It went in.

"W-Well… That was just one shot!" Morikawa yelled, "No way you can do the same for the next two!"

With the next ball in hand, the brunet made the next shot. It went in. He made the third shot. It went in. Kai had won 3-1. Aichi ran over to Kai to congratulate him, happy that he had won. Morikawa growled. He could not accept this. There was no way he would accept it.

"Best two out of three!"

The brunet didn't want to continue these stupid games and he was about to grab Aichi and get the hell out of there but Morikawa beat him to the punch. With the young blue haired male as his captive, Kai was forced to accept the raven haired male's challenge yet again.

The challenges kept going on and on. Kai kept on winning and Morikawa would issue another challenge. With every challenge, Kai's mood grew from bored to annoyed to just plain angry. Even Aichi, who had been afraid of Morikawa in the beginning, was starting to get a little irritated and rather than hope for Kai to win, he was waiting for the moment for when the brunet _would_ win so they could stop with the games and go back to having fun.

The last game they played was who could hit the most bottles out of the pyramid. As expected, Kai had not only one, but had successfully hit every single bottle. The people watching could have sworn that the ball was thrown so hard it looked like a fireball. Now the raven haired male was really pissed off.

"One more challenge!" He declared.

"There won't be any more," Kai responded back, "That was the last game."

"What, are you chicken?!"

"No, we literally went through every single game here."

He was right! They had gone through every single game. And every single time Kai won. This did not please Morikawa at all. And worst of all, he knew it was pointless to hold Aichi hostage now. He was forced to just stand there and glare at the guy that kept defeated him.

Kai was about to leave with Aichi behind him when the worker at the booth they were at said that he had won a prize and could choose among the objects hanging around. Kai himself was not interested in any of those prizes but he looked over at Aichi to see that something had caught the younger male's attention. Hanging there was a plush of a blue, pink and white dog with wings for ears.

The brunet knew what to do. "I'll have that one," he replied, pointing to the dog plush. The employee there took the dog plush down and handed it to Kai. Kai then gave it to Aichi, who hesitated from taking it at first, but then accepted the gift.

"Hey!" Both males looked back at Morikawa. "Are you sure that your relationship is what you say it is? You two act like you're on a date!"

Aichi tilted his head, unsure of what the concept of 'dating' was. Kai however gave the biggest death glare he could to the raven haired male before walking away. Aichi bowed to Morikawa. "It was, uh… nice meeting you!" He then followed Kai to wherever he was going, leaving Morikawa behind.

After the blue haired male finally caught up, the older male suggested one last ride before they leave. Aichi looked up at the sky, which was darkening by the minute. He searched around, thinking hard one which ride he wanted to go on, for he knew he had too choose carefully. After a bit of time, he pointed at one of the biggest rides he saw. Kai looked over. Aichi was pointing at the ferris wheel.

Once they gave their tickets to the employee at the booth, the two made themselves comfortable as they sat across from each other in the cabin. Not long after they were seated, the door to the cabin closed and the ride began. The two boys were silent until the cabin they were in made it to the top of the ferris wheel. Aichi could not believe the sight he saw before him. Since it was already dark out, there were lights everywhere and the lights looked like a sea from the view of the top of the ferris wheel. It was breathtaking.

Aichi looked over at Kai, who was also looking at the sight outside. As usual, his expression was monotonous so it was hard to tell what he was thinking. Feeling uncomfortable with the silence, the blue haired male decided to speak up; the thought of something Morikawa said bothering him.

"Kai? What is 'a date'?"

The brunet looked over at the younger male. "I'm guessing that concept really doesn't exist in your world, does it?" He looked back outside. "Dating is… when two people go out and do stuff together."

That just confused the formally winged male. "But isn't that what we're doing?"

"No!" Kai snapped back in embarrassment, his face slightly red. "We're not on a date! What we're doing is different."

"What is the difference?"

A sigh escaped the brunet's lips. He was unsure of how to tell the difference. However, he tried to explain it the best he could. "Dating isn't just going around and doing stuff though. It's also a way of getting to know someone better."

Aichi tilted his head again. "But isn't that the exact description of what we're doing? We are acquaintances getting to know each other while doing stuff-!"

"I'm telling you; what we're doing isn't a date!"

"Then I don't get it!" Aichi held the dog plushie tighter against his chest as he grew more frustrated. "What is the difference between dating and what we're doing?"

Kai looked at Aichi so the two were sharing eye contact. "The fact that we are simply acquaintances is _exactly_ the reason why we can't call what we're doing a date."

"So does dating require that you have a closer relationship?"

"Yes…" Kai turned his head, now avoiding eye contact, "A much closer… more intimate… relationship."

Aichi's face turned red upon the brunet's description. "Oh…" he replied, "So… dating is an act between lovers… Have you ever been on one?"

The brunet shook his head. "Not interested."

"Why not?"

"Do I need a reason?"

It was Aichi's turn to avoid eye contact. "Well, if Morikawa thought that we were dating and dating was as fun as this, then I think it would be nice to go on one, especially with someone you love."

"Not interested in love either."

"But why?!"

"JUST DROP THE SUBJECT!"

It was silent again. Aichi went back to looking out the window, cuddling the dog plush. Kai was starting to feel guilty. He shouldn't have snapped like that. He just hated it when people try to butt into his personal life. Even so, there was no excuse for his actions. He let out another sigh. "Hey…"

"It's fine," Aichi replied softly, his gaze not leaving the window, "It was something you didn't want to talk about and it wasn't my place to pry. So I'm sorry. I won't ask any more. But just one thing; I feel like if you do find yourself in love, you'll definitely make the person you love very happy."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

Aichi looked back at the older male. His face was red. "Well, you are good looking, talented at cooking and games, brave, strong, and most of all you are very kind."

"I could believe you up until that last one." The brunet crossed his arms. "People tend to say I'm cold and antisocial."

The younger male began fiddling his fingers. "Well, I will admit I thought so too as first. And admittedly you do appear that way. But not long after we met, I noticed how kind you really were. Back when we first met, you could've abandoned me at the park if you wanted to, but instead you brought me back and took care of me. You offered me a place to stay when I had nowhere else to. And even now… the walk, bringing me here to the amusement park, all the stuff we did. It was all so you could cheer me up since I was distressed from my homesickness, wasn't it?"

Kai didn't say anything. Rather, he didn't think that his actions were that obvious. He had to admit that the blue haired male was rather perceptive to catch on to him that quickly. Aichi gave a melancholic smile.

"I'm sure you've probably noticed but… this is the first time I have been this far away from my clan. I'm here in a world where I don't know anybody and I don't know how society works, and that scares me. Worst of all I have the Black Winged Clan after me, and if I had been alone, I probably would've become their prisoner by now. Heck, even if the Black Winged Clan wasn't after me, I would've probably broken down by now if I was alone.

"You were right back then; it's pathetic of me to break down of homesickness like that since it's only the second day. By bringing me here, you have shown me that I should make use of the time I have here and meet lots of people, learn about humans and how they live, and most of all to just have fun. And if I do that, a month will come by in no time. I won't lie; I'm still homesick and I'm still pained by my situation, but if I had not met you I would be wallowing deep in the despair of it all.

"I want to thank you, Kai. And at the same time, I want to apologize. I've no doubt been causing you trouble. Is there anything I can do to repay you; anything at all?"

The brunet scratched his head. "There isn't anything…" He then remembered the conversation he had with Tsukiko earlier that day. He sighed. "Actually there might be something, but I was planning to ask this of you anyway since I don't have any choice in the matter."

He told Aichi about what happened after he left with Miwa; his conversation with Tsukiko and why she wanted him over, and how she wanted to meet Kai's guest. Aichi was attentive through the whole story.

"I see. It was my fault for that wasn't it?" Aichi asked as soon as Kai finished his story, "If that will make things better then of course I will go. Besides, I would like to meet all the people you are associated with."

Not long afterwards, the cabin that they were in had returned to the ground. The two males left the amusement park; Aichi going on about how much fun he had. Kai was glad to see that the younger male's mood was a lot better than it was earlier, and he had to admit he was having a little bit of fun himself just by watching the blue haired boy. Before heading home, Kai suggested they go to the nearby fast food place to eat since he was too tired to cook anything. Aichi was not sure of what a 'fast food place' was but his curiosity of human food made him agree.

Since he knew the blue haired boy wouldn't have any idea of what he would like to have, Kai ordered two burger combos, including fries and some soda. Once the older male came back with the tray of food, Aichi grabbed the burger and examined it. He couldn't even tell what it even was. He had already found some human food peculiar such as ramen and cotton candy, but burgers had to be the weirdest.

He looked over at Kai, who had already started eating his burger. Was that how one eats it? He held it the same way he saw the brunet eat it and took a bite. It was delicious! The burger was surely the weirdest thing he had seen, but the taste was delightful. His mouth watered enough to want to take another bite. It didn't take long until he finished it. It was almost disappointing. Never had he tasted something that good.

"Don't forget you still have your fries," Kai pointed out.

The fries? Aichi looked down at the thin golden strips in the small packet. He took one and ate it. While he didn't find it as delectable as the burger, he still enjoyed the fries. He had to praise humans and the variety of food at their disposal.

After they finished eating and Kai paid, they made their way back to the apartment. For the rest of the night they just watched TV. It was some random show; some sort of crime drama. Neither were really that interested in it, but neither wanted to bother with changing the channel. Once it got late, they turned off the TV, got into their night clothes, and went to sleep.

At least that was the plan. But something had been weighing in Aichi's mind. He laid there in the futon with the dog plush in his arms when Morikawa's words came back to him.

" _Are you sure your relationship is what you say it is? You two act like you're on a date!"_

Did it really look like they were on a date? It didn't bother him at first, but now it was the only thing he could think of. If what Kai said was true, then a date is something that lovers do. And if they really did look like they were on a date like Morikawa said they were, then did that mean they looked like lovers?

No, that was impossible! They couldn't have possibly. Through observation he could tell that Morikawa was… not very bright to say the least. He was probably mistaken. And besides, it wasn't like Aichi wanted a more intimate relationship with Kai.

… Right?

He had to admit that these two days with Kai were some of the best days he had ever experienced. And he had to admit that a part of him wanted to lessen the distance between them; to get to know him a little more. But that was just him wanting to be friends with Kai, right? His conversation with Misaki came back to mind, the fact he felt this nostalgia whenever he was near the older male. It was as if the two had known each other a long time ago. But where? And how? These thoughts continued to flood in his mind until he found himself too tired to continue and fell into a deep sleep. Who can say when and where the answers to these mysteries will solved, or even if they will ever be solved. For now he will sleep peacefully, dreaming the most beautiful of dreams, and leave the questions for the days ahead.


	11. Chapter 10: The Visit

Nothingness.   
  
He had returned to nothingness. It seems this is where it always starts, or usually where he ends up before some unwanted event happens. Was this going to be a similar dream to something before or will it be something different? He was about to find out.   
  
Suddenly, a bright light appeared before him. He examined it from where he was standing first, making sure he positively knew what it was. He realized that it was a way out. With no hesitation, he dashed towards the light. Only once he got there he would know where the light was taking him.   
  
He ended up in a hallway of some sort of building, a castle perhaps. The walls and ceilings were made of sand coloured stone which made the place look brighter, especially under the light of the candles lined along the walls. Below his feet was a long red carpet with a golden trim that ran all the way to the ends of the hall on both sides. Every ten steps through the hall was a couple of dragon statues standing opposite of each other. Standing in this place brought a tender, comforting warmth to him, but at the same time he felt an undesirable chill that made him want to leave.   
  
What was this place?   
  
Out of nowhere, a voice began to echo against the walls. He didn't know what it was at first and decided to traverse the halls. He kept walking and walking until he was out of the hall and in some grand foyer. Within the foyer were many doors that no doubt lead to many different places within the building, pillars with a beautiful motif on both the base and the top, and a grand staircase that went up to the landing. Like the hall, there were many candles and dragon statues decorated against the walls. What was with this place and its obsession with dragon statues and candles?   
  
The voice he had been hearing seemed to be resonating louder and clearer in this room. It sounded like singing. It wasn't just any song it was singing though. The song was so beautiful; so haunting and soothing, like some sort of lullaby. He didn't know why but the tune was both euphoric and nostalgic.   
  
The flames on the candles flickered aggressively, like it was dancing along to the song. Out of nowhere, the flames began floating off and flew around until they all merged together. As if by magic, the merged flames took on a different shape.   
  
They took up the shape of a woman; long flowing hair, an hourglass figure, dressed in a gown that reached the ground. Apparently it was this woman made by the flames that was singing the entire time. Her words were now clearer; so strange and yet somehow very familiar.   
  
Oh my child of the flame.   
  
Listen close as I call your name,   
  
No matter what people may claim,   
  
You and I; we're both the same.   
  
x   
  
Oh my child so shining bright.   
  
Everything will be alright.   
  
For you are the tender light,   
  
That will guide all through the night.   
  
x   
  
Oh my child I hold so dear.   
  
There is nothing you need to fear.   
  
There's no need to shed a tear,   
  
Just remember I'm always near.   
  
x   
  
Never forget this lullaby,   
  
As you soar high up in the sky.   
  
As if he were a moth, he found himself slowly making his way towards the woman of flames. He couldn't explain it, but there was something within him that wanted to be held in her arms. Once he was within touching distance, he tried to wrap his arms around her, only for the flames that made up her body to dissolve. She then reappeared on the other side of the room. He could only stand there as he watched her sing.   
  
Then out of the blue, bigger, more aggressive flames began to surround the woman. She still continued to sing, though her expression was sadder. He tried to reach out to her, but like the dreams before this one, he found himself unable to move. It was strange why he was concerned about her considering she was made of flames as well. Even so, the dreams had the power to toy with his emotions; to cause him so much pain and suffering even if he didn't know why.   
  
When the flames died down, she was gone. His eyes began to sting as the weight of his legs gave way and he fell to the ground.   
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"   
  
XxXxX   
  
Kai jolted awake and swiftly sat up on his bed, sitting there in silence until his heavy breathing died down. Yet another nightmare had awoken him once again. He brought his hand close to his forehead. Why did he keep having these nightmares? What did they mean? How much longer would they go on? Will he be stuck with this twisted form of insomnia for the rest of his life?   
  
Feeling his eye itch, the brunet instinctively rubbed it when he noticed his hand getting really wet. Had he been crying from the dream? He didn't even know what the dream was. He didn't know what anyof the dreams meant. At this point, he was considering throwing away his pride and ask someone about it, though he was still resisting the urge.   
  
He then looked over to the futon beside the bed. Aichi appeared to be still asleep with his back facing the brunet. Kai was relieved. He didn't want to explain himself to the younger male. How could he explain himself anyway? That he was having nightmares of things that confused him. He knew the blue haired male already had his own problems to deal with; he didn't need any more stress. He laid back down on the bed, figuring it was best to get as much more sleep as he could.   
  
After a few hours had passed, both boys got up and had breakfast. Like the day before they ate in silence, though Kai noticed the other male looking a little tense. At first, he decided not to heed it. But by the time they got dressed and walked out the door, it started to get very distracted.   
  
"What is it?" the brunet bluntly asked.   
  
Aichi jumped from Kai's sudden question and looked over at him. "Oh, uh, nothing! Just…" He averted his gaze. "To be honest, I'm a little nervous. I know it's silly, but even with my wings hidden, I still worry that someone might find out what I am."   
  
"I highly doubt it," Kai replied, "There's no way they would know unless they were winged beings themselves. As far as we know, the only other winged people aside from yourself are those punks from the Black Winged Clan."   
  
The blue haired male lowered his head. "I guess…" he replied softly, "Though it's not the only reason why I'm nervous."   
  
"What else is it?"   
  
Aichi kept quiet. There was no way he wanted to tell Kai that he was nervous about meeting Tsukiko and worried about making a good impression in front of her. He didn't think the older male would laugh at him or anything like that, but he still figured he would think it was silly of him to worry about something like that. He decided to change the subject. "So, what kind of person is Miss Tsukiko?"   
  
Kai caught on right away that the younger male was trying to change the subject by asking that. Clearly he didn't want to answer the brunet's question. Not wanting to press him on the issue, he decided to humour him with answering the formally winged male's question.   
  
"She's…" He tried to think. What was the best way to describe that woman? Well, he could list off a lot of things about her; she's creative yet pushy, kind yet short tempered, a complete drama queen and doesn't hesitate to invade the personal space of either himself or Miwa. She was loud, talkative, childish, easily excited, and very annoying in his personal opinion. If he could sum up her entire character in one sentence, he would say she was…   
  
"... Very eccentric," he answered.   
  
Aichi was not sure what he meant when he said that, but figured that was all he was going to get. The rest of the walk was in silence until they finally made it to the front door of the house. Kai pressed the doorbell. After a minute of waiting, the door was opened by Miwa, who greeted them with a big smile.   
  
He invited them in, leading them to the living room where they could sit comfortably. The blond left the room to return not long later with tea. The three sat in silence as they sipped their tea. Kai was the first one to eventually speak up.   
  
"So where is Miss Tsukiko?" he asked.   
  
Miwa smiled. "She should be home soon. She just had to visit the theatre to see Mr. Nakamura and show him the prototype costumes."   
  
Aichi placed his cup on the table. "Should we possibly come back later when she's around?"   
  
The blond male shook his head. "It's fine. She's aware that you guys might be here by now. Any minute now, she will most likely enter the house and happily welcome you."   
  
As if on cue, they heard the door slam open. Miwa rushed over to the front hallway to see Tsukiko standing there with an enraged look on her makeup covered visage. In her hand was a few pieces of paper stapled together crumpling as she slowly tightened her grasp. The very son of said angered woman knew to tread lightly so as not to feel her wrath.   
  
"Hey Mom!" he greeted her as cheerfully as he could, "Welcome back! Is something wrong? Mr. Nakamura surely liked your designs, right?"   
  
Blue eyes looked up at Miwa threateningly, causing the young male to gulp. Her ruby lips slowly rose into a smile; a smile with subtle irritation, that is. "Oh yes, my dear sweet Taishi," she replied under clenched teeth, "He loved them very much! Why, he even commented on how I was such a very talented woman. In fact, he said I was a very talented woman who could do practically anything if I set my mind to it! It makes me sooooo happy that he would even consider something like that to little 'ol me!"   
  
With every sentence her words grew more venomous, and her entire body trembled in fury. The aura around her grew darker as her rage intensified. Miwa grew terrified of his mother's anger. "Th-That's a good thing though, r-right? I-It clearly sounds like he's c-complimenting you."   
  
"Oh yes; that's what it would normally seem, right? It would always be taken as a compliment if said like that, right?" Her smile disappeared and she let out a furious scream. "LIKE HELL IT IS WHEN YOU FORCE THAT ON ME! HOW THE FUCK HAS THAT SHITTY OLD MAN BEEN WORKING IN THE THEATRE BUSINESS FOR SO LONG?! HE CLEARLY DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO KEEP A BUSINESS GOING! THAT GODDAMN SON OF A BITCH! IF I WASN'T SO DESPERATE TO KEEP THIS GIG, I WOULD SHOVE MY HEELS RIGHT UP HIS-!"   
  
"Miss Tsukiko!"   
  
Tsukiko halted from her rant as she noticed Kai and Aichi standing there. In an instant, she threw all irritation aside and gave a genuine welcoming smile to the two. "Toshiki! Welcome! I didn't realize you were already here."   
  
It got quiet. Then again who would want to speak up after that outburst. Aichi leaned in close to the brunet so his lips were close to the older male's ear, speaking in a whisper so the woman could not hear. "You were not kidding when you said 'eccentric.'"   
  
Kai nodded. They walked out of the living room and into the hall so Tsukiko could see them better. "I did what you asked and brought him with me," he spoke up, not bothering to hide his annoyance, "Satisfied?"   
  
Aichi grew stiff from Kai's words and faced Tsukiko. He rapidly bowed in a tense manner. "N-Nice to meet you! My name is Aichi!"   
  
The blonde haired woman walked over to the two boys; her eyes locked onto Aichi. The blue haired boy was nervous with how seriously she stared at him, like someone she had never seen for a long time.   
  
"You are…" she said softly towards the boy.   
  
Aichi was staring back at Tsukiko; his anxiety rapidly growing into absolute fear. Why was she staring at him like that? Was there something strange about him? Did she figure out that he was a winged being? No, Kai assured him that something like that wouldn't be able to happen. So then why? Ruby lips opened once again and the blue haired boy braced himself for what would happen next.   
  
"... SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE!"   
  
Out of the blue, Tsukiko wrapped her arms around the young boy. Aichi began flailing around, trying to get out of her grasp. This was the last thing he expected her to do. With the boy still in her embrace, the blonde haired woman continued to loudly squeal while making sudden conversation.   
  
"You are as pretty as a girl! Oh my! Your skin is so smooth! And your hair! It's so shiny and soft! It's like running my hands against silk! What is your secret?!"   
  
"Um… nothing. My hair is always like this."   
  
"Ugh, I am so jealous. My hair is a bitch to work with in the mornings; what with split ends and the fact that I can't style it the way I want to-!"   
  
"Miss Tsukiko!" Said woman looked over at Kai, who stood there with his arms crossed, giving her a warning look that looked like he was telling her to let go of the blue haired boy. She did just that, apologizing as she did. She offered to continue talking in the living room; a cup of tea ready for her as she sat down beside her son and her guests sitting across from her.   
  
She began to make conversations with Aichi; the blue haired boy wary at first but after a while he was able to relax and was even able to easily make conversation. The air within the room was more peaceful and cheerful now that Tsukiko was now in a better mood. However, it was pretty easy to tell she was still bothered by the whole thing, but probably decided to keep quiet about it so as not to ruin the good time they were having. It was Aichi who built up the confidence to ask.   
  
"I'm sorry to bring this up Miss Tsukiko," he began, "But if it isn't too much trouble, do you mind talking about what made you so upset? Maybe we can help."   
  
At the mention of her heated rant from before, the blonde woman pouted her lips as she began to sulk. "Mr. Nakamura is a big stupid poopy head."   
  
"Aren't you supposed to be an adult?" Kai commented.   
  
"Oh trust me," Tsukiko responded, "If you were there, you would call him that too."   
  
"What did he do?" Miwa asked, "With the way you worded it out, you made it sound like he was suggesting something like sle-!"   
  
Before the blond male could continue his sentence, his mother slapped him upside the head. She didn't hit him too hard, but it was enough to hurt a bit. "Get those dirty thoughts out of your head! I can say a lot of things about Mr. Nakamura at this point and adulterous is not one of them. From what I am aware, he has a loving wife and a son who is well versed in academics."   
  
"So then what happened?"   
  
A sheepish smile grew on Tsukiko's face. "Well, I will admit I would be lying if I said I wasn't partially to blame for all this. You see, I spent the entire morning packing up the things I needed for my appointment with Mr. Nakamura. Though, I wasn't paying attention on what exactly I was taking with me."   
  
Miwa chuckled. "Mom, you didn't take with you that picture of you in that costume again, did you? You know, the one that you described was a hybrid between a unicorn and a dinosaur…?"   
  
Tsukiko glared at her son. "I accidentally took that picture with me once when I made prototype costumes for that cosplay shop and I have not done that since; that cosplay shop or anywhere else!"   
  
Aichi turned his head towards Kai, slowly opening his mouth to ask about it. Before he could though, the brunet replied with a simple "Don't ask." The younger of the two kept quiet as Tsukiko continued.   
  
"No, what happened was that I accidentally brought with me a little something I was working on during my spare time," she continued, "To be more precise, it was a page to a story I was working on. It was nothing serious; just something I felt like writing. Well, like I said I accidentally brought it with me and Mr. Nakamura saw it."   
  
"Did Mr. Nakamura insult it or something?" Kai asked.   
  
Tsukiko shook her head. "Quite the opposite; he thought it was probably one of the best things he ever read."   
  
"I don't see the problem."   
  
The blonde woman sighed. "The fact that he liked it as much as he did was the problem. He wants to turn my story into a full on musical to showcase at his theatre and have me in charge of its production!"   
  
It was silent. Miwa was the first to speak up. "I'm sorry to say Mom, but like Kai said I don't see the problem."   
  
"Well let's put it this way; I, who has been working in the costume department for five years already, am now given this big job of not only the costumes, but directing, both script and song writing, dance choreography, set designing, lighting, and most of all casting. That is like hiring a chef in a hotel restaurant and then making him in charge of managing the entire hotel! WORST OF ALL, THE ENTIRE THING IS UNDER THE DEADLINE WITHIN THE MONTH!"   
  
She slammed her head on the coffee table. All three boys didn't know how to react. Well, they could definitely see her problem. Something like that did look like it would be very stressful job. Anyone would probably feel pissed if they were forced to take on a job like that and be given a deadline as short as the month.   
  
"Mr. Nakamura has definitely gone senile," she continued, "I mean what sensible theatre entrepreneur would force a job like that to one person? This is not how things work! Business does not work that way! Sure I could probably direct and write the script along with making the costumes, but I can't do everything else! I'm not a song writer! I'm not a dancer so I can't set up choreography! I know shit about set design and lighting! I doubt I'd be able to hire professional actors either! I have no way of hiring professional actors for this! This is a near impossible job! Oh, and I forgot to mention that he thought the story was great based on one fucking page! It's just… how the hell does that man still have his job?! I mean really!"   
  
"I'd like to hear what your story is about," Aichi said curiously.   
  
Tsukiko blushed. "Oh no," she replied bashfully, "Despite what Mr. Nakamura said, I really don't think it's that good."   
  
Then Miwa got curious. "Oh come on Mom! What's it about?"   
  
"It's nothing that interesting. I don't want to bore you boys when you came all this way for a visit."   
  
Aichi shook his head. "It's no trouble at all. We'd really like to hear it!" He looked over at the brunet beside him. "Right Kai?"   
  
Kai simply just shrugged his shoulders. Truth be told he was not interested in whatever the story was. He would rather prefer to keep this visit short and go home. However, he could tell just by looking that Aichi was not ready to go home yet and was deeply engrossed in hearing what kind of story Tsukiko wrote. So he decided to just keep quiet. Besides, the sooner they hear the story the sooner they would probably leave.   
  
Miwa leaned in towards his mom, trying to muster the cutest face he could make. "Pleeeeeeeeeeease Mom?"   
  
Tsukiko sighed. It felt like she was dealing with children that wanted to hear a story before they went to bed. There was no way she could win, not with them begging her to tell them. She began to rub Miwa's head with a playful smile. "Alright! I'll tell you!" And so, she began to tell the story.   
  
"Once upon a time, there was a dragon named Draco who lived in a cave up on a tall mountain that overlooked a tiny kingdom. Despite living close to humans, none dared to disturb him and he in turn left them alone. He was perfectly content with this lifestyle of solitude.   
  
"Then one day, he heard footsteps nearing closer and closer to the cave. Draco wondered if someone had come up here to slay him. If that was the case, he would not let them have their way. He was ready to attack when he caught sight of who his trespasser was. It was a young woman who had lost her way while roaming around the forests surrounding the kingdom. It didn't seem like she would be a threat to her, so he left her alone.   
  
"But rather than run away from encountering a dragon, the young woman's curiosity caused her to want to know more about the creature. At first, Draco found the woman to be annoying and unbearable to deal with, but as time went by, he found himself enjoying her company immensely. It was not long before he realized that he had fallen in love with her.   
  
"But the time they had together would not last, for before they knew it a bunch of knights had made their way to the cave. It had turned out that the young woman was the heir to the kingdom that rest at the bottom of the mountain, Princess Lucia. The knights, who were under the assumption that Draco had used some kind of magic on her to bring her there, began to attack the dragon. Draco was forced out of his home.   
  
"Despite feeling like he had been taken for a fool, Draco could not get over his feelings for Lucia, for he desired her more than anything else in the world. However, he knew it was not to be, for she was a beautiful and kind princess and he was an ugly and wretched beast. It was impossible for a maiden to fall in love with a dragon. It was then that he remembered that there was a witch who lived nearby that mastered in all sorts of transformations. Maybe she had something to turn him into a human.   
  
"When he told his story to the witch, she agreed to help him. But before giving him the potion that would supposedly turn him into the form he desired, she gave him a warning. 'Once you drink this potion, you will become a human. However, you must never tell anyone that you were once a dragon. Should you tell anyone, you will change back.' Draco did not worry about that, for he had never planned to reveal that he was a dragon to anyone. And so with no hesitation, he drank the potion, and had been transformed into a human. Satisfied with his new appearance, he made his way to the kingdom.   
  
"When he got there, he learned that there were many suitors that had come from all over the place to take the princess's hand in marriage and every one had been rejected. Draco's determination did not falter. However, he was not the only one who was determined to win Lucia's heart. There was a lord from a faraway kingdom who also wished to marry the princess. His name was Maximilian. At first glance, it didn't seem like he would be any trouble, but he was already in the king's favour and was a lot more intelligent and intimidating than assumed. He posed as a big threat to Draco. Regardless, Draco was going to do everything he could to be the one to marry Lucia.   
  
"Both Draco and Maximilian went through many trials to try to win the princess's hand in marriage. Maximilian tried to sabotage Draco's chances with the help of his assistant but Draco managed to outsmart him. Before long, they both made it to the final challenge. Both were ordered to slay a dragon and come back with its head. Draco wanted to refuse this challenge, for he did not have the heart to kill any of his brethren. But he knew that if he refused, then he would lose Lucia forever. After much debate, he could not go through with the deed, and he knew that he had lost his chance to be with his beloved.   
  
"But surprisingly, it was because he could not go through with it that made Lucia favour him over Maximilian. Because of that, Draco was the one who would get to marry Lucia. He was happy, but there was something that bugged him. Letting this feeling get the better of him, he asked the princess why she chose him even after he refused to complete the task. What she told him surprised him.   
  
"Lucia never wanted to get married; not if she was not going to marry someone she loved. She ran away, hoping to find a place where she could be herself. But because she was unfamiliar with the world outside the kingdom, she got lost fairly easily. Without realizing it, she had ended up at the mountain nearby where she met a dragon; Draco. She expressed her worry for the dragon, for after he was chased off, she was scared that he could've been hurt. The reason why Draco was chosen to become her husband was because she wanted an ally that could help her find her beloved friend.   
  
"Draco was at a loss for words. He wanted to tell her that he was the very dragon that she befriended; that she didn't need to worry any longer. But if he were to do so, he would turn back into a dragon and he would be forced to leave her. He would have to lie. He pretended like he had met the dragon; that the dragon was safe and so she could be at ease. But those words were hollow to Lucia, and she was convinced that she would never be satisfied until she saw the dragon again. Eventually it became too much to the point where Draco made it slip that he was the dragon.   
  
"And just like the witch had said would happen, the moment he revealed his identity to the princess, Draco changed back into a dragon. He fled the kingdom, though not without being seen by the people. Many soldiers, including Maximilian, were sent to hunt down the dragon. As for Lucia, she was shocked to find out Draco was the dragon she befriended, but at the same time she was happy. However, she also felt resentful of herself, for it was because of her that he was in danger. Wasting no time, she fled the kingdom, hoping she could reach him before the soldiers.   
  
"Draco hid back in the cave up in the mountains. He knew that the soldiers would most likely find him there and kill him but he didn't care. He would rather die than live an eternity without his beloved princess. He heard footsteps coming his way. He closed his eyes. He knew that it was the end of him.   
  
"But instead, he heard a familiar voice calling his name. He opened his eyes to see Lucia there. The moment she caught sight of him, she ran over to his side and held his head against her breast, relieved that she was the first one to make it to him. Draco questioned her as to why she would risk her life to come here. She replied with a very simply answer; 'Because I love you'.   
  
"Draco could not believe it. Could it be true? Did Lucia share the same feelings as him? But this moment of bliss did not last long, for Maximilian found them. Draco told Lucia to run, but the princess refused to leave him. A battle began between the lord and the dragon. They were both of even power, and if things continued there wouldn't be a clear victor. So Maximilian decided to cheat. He grabbed a rock and threw it at the dragon then make his strike while the creature was distracted. Draco fell down due to his injury; Maximilian towering over him, preparing the finishing attack.   
  
"That was until Lucia cried to Maximilian to stop. She begged to him to spare Draco's life if he truly loved her. But Maximilian was not going to comply, for he never had any feelings for Lucia from the beginning. All he wanted was to become the kingdom's next king. He didn't care about the method of doing it. Just as he was about to make his strike, Lucia ran towards them and stood between the two. The sword that was to kill Draco ran through Lucia's body.   
  
"Maximilian laughed. 'Isn't this quite a story to tell the kingdom? Picture this; the princess was put under a magical spell by the dragon and was used as a shield to protect the beast from my sword. I, Maximilian, finished off the creature as revenge for our fallen princess. Haha! She was a fool to get in my way.' This angered Draco. With all of his remaining strength, he fought Maximilian. He ended up killing him as a result. With Maximilian defeated, he rushed over to Lucia. She was still alive but just barely, and it seemed like she didn't have much longer to live.   
  
"'Why did you protect me?' he cried, 'You still have something to live for.' Lucia gave him a weak smile. 'Do you still doubt my feelings for you, my dear dragon?' she asked weakly, 'I am happy to die if it means you are safe. I only wish that we could be together just for a little longer.'   
  
"'We will be together,' Draco said, 'We will never part again.' With the last of his strength, he blew the most powerful flame he could. The flame grew and grew until it engulfed the entire cave with Draco and Lucia in it. Although no one in the kingdom knew what had happened to the princess and the dragon, it is safe to say that the two would never be separated again."   
  
Silence filled the room after Tsukiko told the story. There were no words to describe the emotions felt while hearing the tale. Tsukiko nervously laughed as she rubbed the back of her head. "It's still a work in progress. Obviously there will be more to it once I finalize it. It's probably terrible, right?"   
  
Aichi was the first one to speak up out of the three boys. "It wasn't bad at all, Miss Tsukiko," he replied, "But why a sad ending? Wouldn't one expect a happier ending?"   
  
The blonde haired woman nodded. "It is true that usually stories would end with a happy ending. However, I wouldn't go so far as to say the entirety of this ending is sad. True, both Draco and Lucia die at the end, but they died to preserve the love they had for each other. I'd say the ending is more bittersweet than anything." She sighed. "But it's going to be hard to turn this story into a musical production by the 26th. It would be easier if it were a short story, but it's not. A production of this size would usually need a deadline of a few months, maybe even closer to a year in order to get it done. Not to mention how limited I am in terms of resources." She brought her face to her hands. "This is impossible!"   
  
Miwa wrapped his arm around his mother's shoulder. "It's not impossible, Mom! If there's anyone I know that could pull it off, it's you. Heck, you've already proven you could dozens of times!" His face lit up as he came up with an idea. "Hey Mom? Did Mr. Nakamura tell you who you can and can't cast as actors?" Tsukiko shook her head. "So it doesn't matter who you have playing the roles."   
  
Tsukiko lifted her head up slightly, looking over at her son with a suspicious gaze. "What are you implying?"   
  
"Well, you only need three roles, right?" Miwa stood up and walked over to the two males on the opposite couch. "You've got three of us right here!"   
  
"WHAT?!"   
  
Both Aichi and Kai were flabbergasted at Miwa's sudden proposition. What was he thinking? The three of them play the characters? None of them had any experience in acting. Tsukiko was also left speechless at the idea. Realizing the reactions he was receiving, the blond male continued explaining his idea.   
  
"I know what you're all thinking; 'We're amateurs in acting. It would be better to hire a professional.' But here's how I see it. From what I am aware, Mom, you don't know any professional actors and that's part of the problem you have with this production. Well, if not go the professional route, then have people you know personally that will work blood, sweat, and tears all for you. If we work hard enough, then we will be able to pull it off!"   
  
Kai was still dumbfounded by Miwa's idealistic suggestion. Had the blond gone insane? And there was no way Tsukiko would agree to it. He knew that despite her actions, Tsukiko was a very intelligent woman with a very imaginative mind. He had to admit that the story she wrote was truly fascinating, yet at the same time he found it very hard to listen to without feeling pain in his chest. So he was absolutely sure she would object to it.   
  
"Taishi," Tsukiko began, "Your idea… is absolutely… BRILLIANT!" She stood up and rushed over to her son, pulling him into a tight hug. "And just think; any play can have a big named star up there, but how often do you have a cast of fresh faces to picture as the characters? We may need to find some more people to help with playing the support, but we are good to go for the main cast!" She released the blond male as she brought her finger up to her chin and began to ponder something. "Though we haven't discussed who should play who."   
  
Miwa let out a chuckle. "But that's easy Mom! I'll play the role of Maximilian! Villains roles are a lot more fun to play! Aichi will be Lucia since he would look like a more convincing female than Kai and I could; no offense Aichi. And Kai will play Draco!"   
  
Tsukiko was about to give her son more praise, but her cheerful smile turned into a disapproving frown upon the mention of Kai as the lead role. "I don't think so."   
  
He didn't show it, but Kai was relieved that Tsukiko was not considering the idea of making him play the lead. He had no interest in theatre, especially lead characters. Besides, he couldn't even picture himself working out up there. Granted, he had never done any drama before so it was hard to say how he would do. Regardless, he would rather flat out reject it and never know if he could or not than take the role and embarrass himself in front of god knows how many people. He didn't pay attention to the back and forth between mother and son as he was certain Tsukiko had already made up her mind. He just wanted them to wrap it up quickly so he could go home.   
  
The mother and son duo decided to take their discussion in the other room, leaving both guests alone. Kai looked over at Aichi, who had seemed spaced out after Miwa suggested acting in the play. It was one thing for Kai to be involved in something like this, but he knew for certain the blue haired boy didn't have any experience in acting. Besides, he didn't think the younger male would want to spent most of his time on Earth on a project this big.   
  
"You can refuse to be a part of it if you don't want to," Kai spoke up.   
  
Aichi jumped at the brunet's sudden response and looked over at him. "Oh, yeah! I mean, I know I have that option. But…" He looked down at his lap. "It seemed like Miss Tsukiko was distressed over the whole issue. Even though I've just met her, I feel like I should do something to help. So I figure… if there's anything I can do, I'll try to contribute as much as I can."   
  
Kai eyed the blue haired boy. "Even if you have to play as a girl and a lover to whoever plays the lead role?"   
  
"It will be rather awkward, I will admit. But I'm willing to put up with it if it means helping someone. It's not like I have pride or anything. And I feel like this would be a nice memory to look back on; participating in my very first play." Aichi looked back up at the older male. "Are you thinking of helping?"   
  
The brunet laid back on the couch. "Not really," he replied, "I don't see any point in doing it."   
  
Aichi looked back up and stared at the older male in surprise. "Not even to help someone you know?"   
  
"Do I not have the privilege to refuse if I know the person?"   
  
"Not at all! I just think it would be nice to do, is all." Aichi looked away. "Besides, I think you would be great at it."   
  
Kai crossed his arms. "What makes you so sure? I've never acted before. I don't want to risk embarrassing myself when it's not necessary."   
  
"I wouldn't think of it like that. I like to consider it as an interesting experience to share with many people. But if you really don't want to be a part of it, then I won't push you. Besides, it seems like Miss Tsukiko isn't too keen with having you play Draco anyway so I guess it's a good thing for you, right?" The blue haired boy began to think. "I wonder who she'll consider for Draco then."   
  
It was then that Kai began to realize something. While being the lead character, Draco was the lover of Lucia, who Aichi was being considered in playing. If that was the case, and knowing Tsukiko, the play would have the two act as intimate as possible. Kai pictured the idea of Aichi being held in the arms of another man, and for some strange reason, the thought of it made the brunet shudder. And what about Aichi himself? Sure, he did say he was fine with taking on the role if it meant helping out, but was he really okay with the idea that he would have to pretend to be the lover of a man he didn't know that well? Granted, the younger male didn't know Kai very well either, but there wasn't a doubt he deeply trusted the brunet. And the look in the boy's eyes did tell him that he really wanted him to take the role of Draco. Kai really didn't want to take on the role; there were lots of things he would prefer doing over that, but the nagging feeling in his heart wasn't making his choice of rejection easy.   
  
Not long afterwards, Tsukiko and Miwa returned to the living room. Both of them had neutral expressions on their faces. What happened in the other room? What kind of decision did they come to? They walked over to Kai.   
  
"Toshiki," Tsukiko began, "We've been talking about whether you should play the role of Draco or not but figured it was best to ask you what you wanted to do. But before you give your answer, I want you to know that even if you decide not to take on the role, I will completely understand and will not ask you to do a single thing."   
  
It was quite clear by her words that she really didn't want Kai to take the role. While he was not sure of her reasoning, normally he wouldn't hesitate by taking her up on her silent offer and refuse. However, he was still concerned regarding Aichi. He didn't want to have him act out the role with another man as his partner, and it was clear that Aichi was uncomfortable with the thought as well. He looked over at Miwa, who looked like he was anticipating for Kai to say yes, although he did look at him in fear that the brunet would refuse. Two people wanted him to play the role while one didn't and he had some uneasy feelings on the whole thing. He knew his answer.   
  
He sighed. "...Fine."   
  
Everyone looked at him with confused gazes. Tsukiko was the one to speak up. "Fine?"   
  
"I'll play the role."   
  
The confused gazes turned into ones of shock. Miwa's didn't last though, for just as quickly as it appeared, his shocked face turned into a satisfied grin. Aichi's also changed into an expression of hope. Tsukiko was the only one who remained shocked. It took her a while before she regained her composure, and the first thing she did afterward was place her hand on Kai's forehead.   
  
"I don't have a fever," Kai bluntly pointed out, gently swatting her hand away.   
  
Tsukiko apologized. "It's just so unusual for you to actually want to do a favour. The one time I say it's alright to refuse and that's when you agree to help. Sometimes, it feels like you do this just to mess with me."   
  
The brunet shrugged. "I just figured I'd help out. Is it really that big a deal? Besides, you were going on about how desperate you were for actors. If you reject me, then who else will you get?"   
  
"It's not that I don't want you to be a part of it, sweetie! It's just…" The older woman was silent for a bit. Suddenly, her eyes began to gleam as an idea hit her. "I know! Toshiki, why don't you be Maximilian, and Taishi can be Draco!"   
  
Kai raised his eyebrow. "You're that against me playing the role. Do you think I'd be terrible at it or something?"   
  
Tsukiko shook her head. "Not at all! If anything, you'd be perfect! It's just… D-Draco is a lot of work. Tons of work is put into the main character. You'd have to put a lot of effort into it."   
  
"And you think Miwa is a lot more reliable at that sort of thing than me?"   
  
"He's got a point," Miwa spoke up, "Kai would be more likely to pull off the role than me."   
  
The blonde woman was now desperate. "But…"   
  
Miwa stopped her before she could continue by placing his hand on her shoulder. "Mom, just give him the role. He'll play Draco. And if it ends up not working out, we can search for someone else. But only if we're really desperate."   
  
Blue eyes looked back and forth between both males before a sigh escaped through ruby lips. "...Fine. But if I see anything wrong, I won't hesitate to look for someone else."   
  
The brunet nodded. It was decided; Kai would play the role of Draco. The smiles on both Miwa and Aichi's faces grew bigger from this, silently congratulating the brunet male. Only Tsukiko was unhappy from it; showing slight worry but did appear to consider the bright side of having all the main characters cast.   
  
"Now that that's settled, I'm going to use these next couple of days to work on the script and try my best at song writing. I will call you once I have everything set up as well as a schedule for practice."   
  
With that said and done, Kai and Aichi were about to leave when Miwa pulled Kai over so they could speak privately while Tsukiko went to talk to Aichi. The blond male had a big grin on his face, not unlike the one he had when he saw his friend and the blue haired male together for the first time. Kai could tell that whatever he was thinking was not good.   
  
"So be honest," he whispered softly, not wanting to be heard by Aichi or his mother, "You agreed to it mainly because Aichi agreed to be Lucia, right?"   
  
Of course it had to be about that. Kai didn't try to hide his annoyance. "I don't think it's any of your business on what I choose to do and not do."   
  
But that only caused the blond to grin even more. "But I mean, think about it; you and Aichi are going to play as lovers. You obviously wanted to make your relationship more intimate and that's why you accepted the role."   
  
"Are you still on about that? Didn't we conclude that discussion with you admitting there's nothing between him and I? Why are you bringing it up again when we agreed to forget about it?"   
  
"Correction; I said I believed you when you said you and Aichi don't share an intimate relationship. I'm currently talking about your feelings for him."   
  
Kai raised an eyebrow. "My feelings? For Aichi?"   
  
Miwa nodded. "Your attitude when I first saw you both together doesn't seem like a reaction a guy would normally have unless there were some feelings behind it. Though it's still debatable if it's more romantic, or..." The blond began to chuckle at this point. "... You are secretly a pervert."   
  
With no hesitation, Kai punched his friend upside the head. He then stormed over to the front door, put his shoes on, and making sure Aichi was right behind him, left the house. Aichi gave his farewells to both Tsukiko and the currently crying in pain Miwa and apologized before following the angered brunet.   
  
Both males were quiet the walk home. Aichi had been thinking of speaking up and asking what was wrong, but was not sure if it would be a good idea with Kai's current mood. When they got home, it didn't take long for the brunet to walk over the bed and lay down, resting his hand on his forehead. Aichi just continued to stand at the entranceway, feeling quite hesitant to get close to the older male, especially since it didn't seem like his mood was faltering for a bit.   
  
Kai was still thinking about what Miwa said to him. He was not a pervert; he would never look at anyone with pure lust. However, he couldn't deny the fact that he did get aroused that one time with Aichi. Thinking about it, he didn't know how that happened. Not that the sight of him getting a hard-on was unusual; he was a healthy teenage boy after all, but he had never been aroused at the sight of another person. He didn't even get a reaction all the times he was forced to watch porn videos with Miwa. So then why would he get aroused at the sight of an acquaintance he had only known for three days wearing nothing but a towel? Kai figured he shouldn't really blame Miwa for making that assumption.   
  
And then Kai remembered that since he agreed to it, he would be playing the male lead while Aichi would be playing the female lead. He was annoyed with the fact that he found himself agreeing to it, but at the same time he felt… content for some reason. He couldn't explain it. Same as he couldn't explain his emotions around Aichi; this strange need of wanting to protect him no matter the cost. Why did he have these feelings?   
  
It was then that he realized that Aichi had not moved from the entranceway since they first got home. "You don't have to keep standing there, you know."   
  
Aichi snapped out of his own inner thoughts the moment he heard Kai call out to him. "I'm sorry. I was nervous on whether it'd be a good idea to…"   
  
Kai sighed. "Have you not realized that this is also your home for the month you're here? You don't have to be formal about everything."   
  
The blue haired boy hesitantly made some small steps further inside the apartment, and more specifically closer to Kai, like a mouse trying to keep its distance from a lion. The brunet noticed this and called him out on it, asking what the deal was.   
  
Aichi looked down at the ground. "You're… not fighting with Miwa, are you?"   
  
Was this what the younger male was worrying about? A sigh escaped the brunet male's lips. "Not at all. It's the usual between us; he says something stupid, I knock some sense into him. It's how it's always been. By tomorrow, it'll be like it never happened."   
  
"And you're sure that he wouldn't resent you because of this or something?"   
  
"If he did, it would've happened within the past sixteen years already. And even if he did get angry, it usually fades away pretty quickly. He's not the kind of guy who'll hold a grudge for a long period of time."   
  
Aichi was in awe. "So you two really have known each other long and well enough to know the other's personality inside and out? You really are like brothers…"   
  
Kai just laid there in silence, not bothering with replying back. He stared at the ceiling, not really thinking of anything. After a few minutes had passed, the brunet realized the younger male still staring at him. He asked what the deal was. Aichi, once again startled from suddenly being spoken to, jumped a little.   
  
"I-It's nothing!" he replied, sitting down on the bed, being the closest piece of furniture he could sit on, with his back facing the older male.   
  
"You just stare at people without a reason?" Kai asked, not really buying Aichi's excuse, "Come on, what is it?"   
  
More silence. Aichi was hesitant on telling the brunet what it was. However, he knew nothing good would come out of hiding it. And the blue haired boy really needed to know. Without turning around, he spoke up. "If you don't mind me asking… what made you change your mind?"   
  
So it was about accepting the proposal after refusing it at first. It was Kai's turn to be quiet for a bit before answering. "I just decided to go through with it."   
  
"It's not my fault, is it?"   
  
"In what way?"   
  
Aichi turned slightly so there was slight eye contact between them, though not much. "Because I kept pestering you."   
  
Kai sat up, looking straight at the blue haired boy. "You didn't really pester me. Heck, you barely did anything that could be considered you 'trying to make me change my mind'. It would take a lot more than that to get me to commit to something like that." 'Your words did remind me on the casting choices though,' he added in his thoughts.   
  
The younger male was still unsure if he could really brush it off like that. The fact that it wasn't long after he said something did Kai change his mind on participating, and it was very glaring. He clenched his hands on his lap. "It's just… to be honest, I was happy when you said you'd help out. Mainly for my own selfish desires. I mean… you are the only person I really know here on Earth. If I were to have my first acting experience, I'd feel more comfortable if you were here with me. But… I'd feel guilty if you only did so for my sake, because I don't want to force you to do something you really don't want to do."   
  
"I chose to do so of my own volition." The brunet ran his fingers through his hair as he got off the bed, "Let's end this discussion. We've got a couple days until Miss Tsukiko finishes the script. We'll probably be really busy for the rest of the month, so if you have something in mind that you want to do, we have tonight and tomorrow to do so."   
  
Aichi shook his head. "If it's alright with you, I just want to relax here for the rest of the day."   
  
Kai shrugged. "Fine by me."   
  
And so, both males spent the rest of the day relaxing at the apartment. Kai was watching the weather channel to see what the weather was going to be like the next few days in case they do decide to go out while Aichi borrowed one of Kai's books and was reading it while lying on the bed. They did that until it was time for dinner, in which they ate and just watched a random channel until they both decided to head to bed.   
  
While Aichi was able to fall asleep easily, Kai was not so lucky. He was thinking back at the dream the night prior. Normally he'd have no trouble getting to sleep, but without realizing it the last dream he had spooked him enough that he couldn't find it in himself to close his eyes. Memories of that woman and the flames that surrounded her flashed through his mind, and there was something within him that was frightened to see that again. None of the dreams beforehand had affected him as much as this one did.   
  
He then remembered the song that the woman sang through most of the dream. There was something about that song that felt strangely calming to him. It was probably the only time in a dream where he felt his most relaxed. Before he realized it, he found himself humming the tune. Like a magic spell, the longer he hummed it, the drowsier he got, until he was finally able to fall to sleep peacefully.


	12. Chapter 11: Feeling the Heat

It was a hot summer afternoon, probably one of the hottest days to come so far. Luckily for Kai, he didn't have to stand around in the heat. The brunet was currently standing around in the Miwa residence, hands in his pockets, waiting for Tsukiko. He had gotten a call from her that morning, telling him that she had something she wanted to give him and she couldn't pull away from her work for too long, so she asked him to come over, thus leading to the present day. He wondered what she had to give him that was so important that she would take a short break from work just to give to him? It seemed like he would never be able to understand what goes through the blonde woman's mind.

He looked around. Tsukiko had kept disappearing and reappearing, muttering to herself something about where she put something. Kai then noticed that Miwa hadn't popped out to say hello. Knowing the blond male's personality, he wouldn't pass the opportunity to annoy his best friend to no end. Did he go out? He made sure to ask the moment Tsukiko walked by again.

"He went out," the older woman replied, "He said he was planning on recruiting some people to help out with the play, whether it would be to play extras or to help as crewmembers."

"You couldn't do that in the first place with the main cast?" Kai questioned her.

"I had planned to do so at first for Draco before you offered to play the role. As much as I am against it though, I will admit it is better than searching for someone for who knows how long. And we don't have that much time."

Kai was not sure if this was really how one hires people for theatre, but he wouldn't know for sure since he doesn't work in the business himself. Even if this wasn't the way it's supposed to work, he doubted that Tsukiko would care. She was the type of person that didn't care about what people considered weird or not. She viewed things based on her own feelings and interpretations. In fact, Kai was sure he remembered meeting a few of her friends who happened to be of different sexualities and gender identities. The brunet began to think that if everyone in the entire world were like Tsukiko, maybe it would be much more peaceful and accepting.

"GODDAMMIT! WHERE THE HELL IS THAT STUPID SHITTY FUCKING THING?!" Loud thumps and sounds of shattering glass followed afterwards in the other room. Had he been standing in there during that rampage, Kai figured he would've gotten himself killed by the things that were possibly flung around. The teenage male changed his mind and concluded the world was a lot safer the way it was.

After a bit more time had passed, Tsukiko had finally found what she was looking for, grinning victoriously like she had won a treasure hunt or something, which did sound about accurate given the situation. She walked over to Kai with a rectangular box half her size height wise. It made the brunet question how she had trouble finding it in the first place but that was the least of his problems. What was in that box that Tsukiko felt it was important for him to have?

"A fan," she answered bluntly the moment he asked.

"Why a fan?" Kai questioned yet again.

"Well, today is most certainly a hot day and who's to say how many more days will end up like it? I figured you'd like it to cool down your apartment."

The brunet crossed his arms. "You asked me that before when you first bought the apartment for me and I said I didn't need it. Why do you think I'd change my mind after that?"

Tsukiko scowled at him. "I already know you yourself don't mind the heat, although personally I think it's unhealthy, and normally I wouldn't push it if it was regarding your living standards. However, I am only suggesting taking the fan now because you aren't living alone at the moment. Your apartment must feel like a sauna right now. It would be awful to force someone like him to live like that for the entirety of his stay. He's your guest after all. He needs to be treated with proper hospitality."

Kai was about to retort back, but he knew that nothing he said would change the older woman's mind. She was acting like a mother who wanted to give her son and his new wife a present to celebrate them living together. After placing the fan down, she went over to the kitchen, telling Kai that she had some extra food she was given by the neighbors and figured he would possibly like it. The brunet didn't object to that. After all, who could say no to some free food? Once again, he found himself to be waiting around the blonde woman as she went to get something for him. He couldn't wait until he could go back to his apartment and relax. Granted, Aichi was there, but the blue haired boy didn't really annoy him that much.

Subconsciously, he once again found himself singing the song from his dreams. How strange that the song would not leave him no matter what, as if something within him was afraid to forget. While surely calming, there was something about it that pained his heart as well. Where did the song even come from anyway and how did he know it?

"That song…"

The brunet turned around to see Tsukiko standing there with some containers of food. Her expression was one of surprise and at the same time melancholic. "You know that song?" Kai asked.

Blue eyes widened. "Of course I do," the older woman responded back, lowering her head, "That song was the one your mother would sing to you every night when you were little."

"My mother…?"

Kai fell deep in thought. The mention of his mother being the one who sang that song to him had awoken some blurry images in his mind. He knew what these images were though. They were memories of his mother singing the song while holding a younger Kai close to her. What was strange was that while they were blurry, his mother's appearance was the blurriest. Why couldn't he see what she looked like?

"Toshiki?"

Hearing his name snapped Kai out of his thoughts to see that Tsukiko was standing right in front of him; barely any distance between them. Her hands, which seemed to have already put down the containers while he was distracted, on the younger male's shoulders. As they made eye contact, Kai noticed that the blonde woman's expression was dark; something he never saw from her.

"Has anything else happened recently?" she asked to the point, "Anything involving memories you may have forgotten or anything that may be affecting your health? Like do you feel any random pains or you have a tough time breathing? How about feeling faint? Or do you have a hard time sleeping?"

The brunet was stunned. Why was she asking all these questions? And why did she bring up lack of sleep? Did she know something? Should he tell her about the dreams he had been having every night ever since he read the book she gave him? How would she react? Would she help him with getting the dreams to stop?

A part of him was ready to spill everything that had been happening to him to the blonde woman, hoping that she would be able to help him and he could finally get some sleep. At the same time, he still had some pride within him and hesitated to say anything. Besides, it wasn't like he was completely sure she knew anything and he'd probably look crazy in front of her. He knew he shouldn't keep quiet for long or the older woman would get suspicious. In the end, he didn't want to risk it and simply just shook his head.

Tsukiko's eyes narrowed. Kai knew that he responded too late. She could tell he was hiding something. "You are being honest with me, right? There's nothing at all?" The younger male once again shook his head. The two stared at each other for a while; neither planning to back down. In the end, Tsukiko finally gave up as she let out a sigh.

"Fine," she spoke aloud, "If you are really fine, I won't push it. But Toshiki, please promise me one thing." As she stared at the younger male, her expression was a mix of seriousness and worry; her voice wavering in desperation as she spoke. "If something does happen, you come to me and tell me right away. I don't want you to hesitate, I don't want you to hide it. I'd want to know immediately… before it's too late."

Kai felt confused. She didn't make any sense. 'Before it was too late?' Too late for what? If it was something involving him, he needed to know. He asked the blonde woman what she was talking about. Her eyes widened the moment he asked. She kept quiet as she pulled away from the younger male. Her eyes glanced down at Kai's body. Kai looked down as well; staring at the grey sweatshirt and beige jeans he was wearing. He knew full well what she was referring to. But was that all it was? He didn't want to bother asking and simply nodded.

With everything all settled, Kai took the box containing the fan and the containers of food which were put into a bag to make easier to carry and began to head home. Tsukiko watched as the younger male left; worry still showing on her face. "Please don't let my fears come true."

XxXxX

Kai was greeted with quite a sight the moment he got back to his apartment. Aichi was sitting on the bed with his eyes closed, half naked with his wings out, fluttering to try to keep cool. Although it didn't show on his face, the brunet was slightly amused with how much the blue haired boy was like an actual bird at times, and yet he couldn't help but stare in awe with how breathtaking he looked as his chest was moving up and down as he was panting, sweat glistening on his face and bare chest. Never did Kai expect to see such an erotic sight in his own apartment. However, he knew that things would get even more awkward if it continued like this, so he cleared his throat, trying to get the winged being's attention.

Aichi's eyes opened as wide as they could, making eye contact with the human in front of him. Startled by the older male's sudden appearance, the blue haired boy was flailing around frantically before falling off the bed. Kai almost dropped the stuff he was carrying ready to help the younger male when he noticed Aichi slowly getting back out, letting out a squeaky 'I'm okay.' He then immediately stood back up, panting a little bit, but otherwise perfectly okay like he said. Kai didn't bother to question it and instead gave Aichi the bag of containers to put into the kitchen while he got out and set up the fan.

As soon as he finished setting the fan up and turned it on, Aichi didn't hesitate to dash in front of it and lean close to it, relaxing as he felt the cool air against his bare skin, his hair flowing through the breeze. Kai went into to the kitchen to check on the food Aichi placed on the counter, organizing them and putting them away where they belonged, whether it was the fridge, freezer, or cupboard. Once done, he walked back over to Aichi, who seemed to feel much better. There was a glaring issue the brunet needed to discuss with the younger male.

"Why are your wings out?" he questioned the winged being. While he admitted the sight was rather exotic, he couldn't help but get a little concerned.

Aichi looked up at the older male and smiled sheepishly as he began to fidget with his fingers. "Well, it was hot and there was nothing around to help cool me down so I just let my wings out and that helped somewhat."

That did not calm Kai down in the slightest. "What if it hadn't been me walking through that door?! You saw what happened a couple days ago, right? Miwa could've walked in! Your secret could've been blown!"

The blue haired boy looked down at the ground like a child who was currently being punished for doing something bad. "I didn't think that would happen again after last time…"

A sigh escaped the human male's lips. "Just be careful, alright? You are the one that said your identity needs to be kept secret, right? You can't let your guard down just because I know your secret and I'm letting you stay here."

Aichi nodded. "You're right. It's careless of me." He retracted his wings back into his body, which Kai noted looked like it was easier and less painful to do now than it did the first time, and walked back to the bed, grabbing the white t-shirt that was there and put it on. He then walked back to the fan and sat back down. Kai stared down at the blue haired boy, worried that he might've sounded a little too harsh, despite his reasonable concern. However, all doubts of that were erased the moment they made eye contact and Aichi smiled back at him. Kai looked away, trying to hide the blush that was crawling on his face. It seemed like he was starting to feel new things every day whenever he looked at Aichi, as if something about the boy was stirring something up within him.

"Kai?" the younger male spoke up, "Don't you feel uncomfortable like that?"

The brunet turned his gaze back to the blue haired boy. "What do you mean?"

"You went outside dressed like that. Don't you feel hot like that?"

Kai looked down at his clothes then back at Aichi. "It's fine."

It was Aichi's turn to get concerned. "But Kai, I don't think it's healthy to walk around wearing a long sleeved shirt. In fact every time I've seen you, you've been wearing long sleeved shirts. I'm worried that you might overheat your body like this."

"My body won't overheat," Kai responded, his voice sounded slightly irritated from the nagging, "I'm used to this."

Aichi stood up, walking over to the brunet. "But you shouldn't _have_ to feel used to it. Please Kai! I know you have short sleeved shirts in your closet! Why don't you put one on? You'll feel better-!"

"SHUT UP AND MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!"

Both stood silent upon Kai's sudden outburst. Never had Aichi seen the brunet get angry like that, and he had seen quite a few moments of him angry. Kai couldn't stay any longer, and so he rushed to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Aichi just stood in place, holding his hand against his chest, feeling the anguish of upsetting the older male. He didn't think shirts would be a delicate subject for the brunet. Thinking about it, Aichi had never seen Kai shirtless. The brunet would always go into the bathroom to change. Something told him that Kai would probably not want to talk about it though. Of course he wouldn't. They were still only acquaintances. It's not like a friendship between them could grow that quickly. What kind of person was he to Kai anyway? Did Kai really care about him?

Or was he only a hindrance?

Meanwhile, Kai was leaning against the wall as he was trying to calm himself. He wanted to spend some time alone yet he didn't want to leave Aichi in his apartment unattended. He looked straight at the mirror hanging over the sink across from him, staring at his reflection. He clenched onto the sweatshirt he was wearing. It wasn't like he wanted to keep wearing long sleeved shirts every day, even on a hot day like this one. Heck, he found it strange that he _hadn't_ felt overheated wearing them all the time. It was a good thing though, for if he had, he would be forced to wear shirts that reveal the very thing he was trying to hide; the very thing he didn't want anyone to know about no matter what.

He didn't blame Aichi for worrying about him. He couldn't. It was natural. But he didn't know how he could explain what he was doing without giving him reason to worry him even more. It had only been a few days, but he had already figured out the winged being's personality, and he could tell the blue haired boy was one who would try to do anything to make another person happy, even if he got hurt in the process.

A sound of metal clanging rang outside the door. Teal eyes widened. He had a bad feeling. He rushed out the bathroom and towards the kitchen to see the very thing he feared. Aichi was standing near the oven, pans on top, with the oven turned on. The younger male noticed the brunet come out and was about to greet him again when he put his hand down on the oven, jumping in pain upon contact with a loud 'OUCH!'

"What the hell are you doing?!" Kai shouted, rushing over to turn the oven off before reaching out for Aichi's burnt hand, holding onto his wrist so as to be careful.

"Kai, wait!" Aichi cried out as the older male was turning on the tap, immediately putting the burnt hand under cool water. The latter was not paying attention to him, focusing on trying to ease the burn. After keeping it under water for a few minutes, he let go of Aichi's hand and began digging around the apartment for a first aid kit he kept around the house as he muttered to himself. Aichi called out for him again, but the brunet would not listen. "You don't have to treat it! I can cure it with my magic!"

That got the older male's attention. He looked over at the blue haired boy, curiosity and wonder shining in teal eyes. "You can heal wounds?"

The younger male didn't respond. Instead, he simply raised his other hand close to the burnt one, the former starting to glow. Kai stared in awe as he watched the burns slowly disappear. After some time had passed, the glow on Aichi's hand subsided, and the other hand which had been injured looked like it didn't even suffer a single scratch.

Kai couldn't believe his eyes. If he had not seen the whole thing in front of him, he wouldn't have even believed Aichi was injured in the first place. He clenched his shirt. If it could heal burns, could he be able to heal any type of wound?

"Unfortunately, healing powers from a member of the Gold Winged Clan have limitations," Aichi replied to Kai's question, "The wounds need to be recent and they have to be wounds that can heal. It won't work on permanent scars or dismembered limbs. It especially won't bring people back from the dead either."

Hearing that answer disheartened Kai a bit. It seemed like what he had in mind wouldn't work. He then remembered why he saw Aichi's healing powers in the first place. "What were you doing in the kitchen."

Aichi lowered his head as he brought his hand to his chest. "I feel guilty about what happened earlier. You've been treating me with nothing but kindness and I've done nothing but make you upset. I thought maybe if I cooked dinner for tonight, maybe it would be a good way to repay you and to make it up to you."

Kai sighed, running his hand through his hair. Of course the whole situation would worry the winged male. Aichi was a very gentle and kind hearted person. It would bother him if he upsetted anyone. Kai knew he had to try to make things right.

"Look," he spoke up, causing the blue haired boy to look up at him, "I find myself wearing long sleeves no matter what. It's a preference… and something I feel most comfortable in. It's my own decision to walk around like this."

Aichi was about to retort but the expression on Kai's face showed that he didn't want to argue back, so he stopped. A hand made its way to the younger male's shoulder. Cerulean hues met teal as the two males made eye contact with each other. The brunet's visage was calm and soft as he stared down at the boy in front of him.

"But I do appreciate your concern," he continued, "Thanks."

It was silent. Neither male said a word after that. There was no need to. They were both content with what was already said. After a bit of time had passed, Aichi clasped his hands together as he gave the brunet a determined smile. "I should get to cooking!"

Before Aichi could walk back into the kitchen, Kai grabbed the collar of the younger male's shirt and stopped him. "Do you even know how to cook?"

"No, but I can try."

Kai stared dumbfounded. While he appreciated the honesty, it was also nerve wracking. He let go of Aichi's shirt and began to walk to the kitchen. "Actually, I will cook tonight. I don't want to risk the apartment burning down."

Aichi glared at the brunet. "I won't burn down the apartment!" Teal eyes looked back at him in skepticism. "... Maybe." A raised eyebrow. "I don't think I'm that bad!"

"Cooking is not something anyone can master by doing it once," the older male explained, crossing his arms, "The smallest mistake could cause bodily harm, or at the very least a terrible tasting dish."

"I won't hurt myself!"

"Like you did about ten minutes ago?"

"I was distracted! I didn't expect you to come out when you did! And it's fine now, right? The burn is gone!"

The two continued to argue on who should cook dinner for the evening; both refusing to back down. It went on for quite a while. In the end, they decided on a compromise. It was decided that Aichi would help with cooking while Kai teached him what to do. Kai made sure that whatever Aichi did would probably be the simplest one could cook. However, and it baffled him how it was possible, but Aichi was able to screw up with everything. He concluded that Aichi was truly a royal with no domestic skills.

Once all the food was cooked, they sat down at the table. It was easy to tell who cooked what with what colour it was. Kai picked up a dish that was cooked by Aichi and took a bite. The blue haired boy stared in anticipation, awaiting the older male's thoughts. The brunet swallowed and looked straight at the boy opposite him.

"This is the worst thing I have ever tasted my entire life," was his response.

Aichi looked down at the table, feeling let down. He thought that he would probably make something really good so he wouldn't come off as a burden to the older male, but he could see that it had the opposite effect. "I'm sorry."

Kai took another bite from the terrible tasting food much to the blue haired boy's surprise. "Well, you'll just need to make sure to do better next time."

Cerulean eyes widened as they gazed back up at the other male. Did Aichi hear that right? Was Kai going to let him try again? He couldn't contain the smile that grew on his face nor the tears that began to flow down his cheeks. Kai looked over with slight worry, but was quickly assured by the blue haired boy that he didn't need to be.

After the younger male was able to calm down and the two finished eating, they began to lounge around, not really doing anything in particular. Both were completely quiet before Aichi finally spoke up.

"Are you really sure there isn't anything I can do to pay you back for all the trouble I've been causing?" he asked.

Kai stared at him. "I thought you coming with me to visit Miss Tsukiko was your way of paying me back?"

Aichi shrugged. "Well, you said you were going to ask that of me anyways so I don't think it's really 'paying back'."

A sigh escaped the brunet's lips. "Listen; you really don't need to do anything."

"But haven't I done nothing but cause you trouble?"

"Didn't we already have this talk on the first day?"

There was only silence. Another sigh was released as Kai got up and walked over to the bookcase near the desk, pulling out a book. He then handed the book over to Aichi. Aichi stared at the cover. It read 'Fairy Tale Collection'.

"You really want to make it up to me?" the older male continued, "Read that."

Aichi glanced up at the brunet. "Aloud?"

"To yourself."

The blue haired male stood up. "How is this paying you back? Is there some hidden meaning behind it or…?"

Kai laid down on the bed face up with his arms under his head. "It's to occupy and keep you quiet while I take a nap and ease this headache I have."

"You sure you don't want any medi-?!"

Aichi stopped the moment he noticed the older male scowling at him. Apparently he really wanted the younger male to be quiet. The blue haired male turned around and began reading the book. He read a couple paragraphs before his attention turned back to Kai, who had already fallen asleep. He analysed the sleeping human. Aichi already believed the brunet to be good looking, but he couldn't believe how beautiful he looked sleeping. His skin, pale compared to the winged male's, looked almost as white as snow, as if he would feel cold to the touch. His face was very pretty too; long lashes, strong cheekbones, a chiseled jaw; he looked more like a typical fairy tale prince than Aichi. He didn't mind though. He was so entranced, he didn't realize he had been leaning over the brunet nor did he realize his hand reaching out to touch his cheek.

Teal eyes met cerulean as the older male opened them. Aichi's entire face turned scarlet upon realization and immediately pulled away and brought the book close to his face, trying to pretend it didn't happen. Kai could feel the blue haired male looming over him as he tried to sleep. The moment he feels like he knows what the winged male is thinking, he surprises him with unpredictability. He reasoned that he probably wouldn't get to understand the younger male fully.

"What story are you on?" the older male asked, getting back the other male's attention.

Aichi stared confusingly at the brunet before realizing what he meant. He looked at the title. "It says it's called 'The Little Mermaid.'"

"Had you read any of it?"

There was only silence. Aichi was not sure how to respond to that. He knew Kai wanted him to read the book, even if it was just an excuse to make the younger male stop pestering him. Still, he didn't want to disappoint him in any way.

Kai continued. "If you really want, you can read it aloud. I don't mind."

Aichi looked back at the brunet. Was this Kai's way of saying he _wanted_ Aichi to read aloud? With no hesitation, his eyes glanced back to the book and he began to read out loud. Kai never told him to stop even after he finished that particular story. Aichi continued to read until both fell into a deep slumber.


	13. Chapter 12: Investigation

It had been a couple of days since all news regarding Prince Aichi was told to everyone in the palace. While they knew he was not dead and would most likely return to them soon within a month's time, that did not mean they could continue on as if it wasn't a big deal. Aichi was deeply loved in the palace, for he was a gentle soul who treated everyone with kindness. However, no one missed the prince as much as the princess did. Upon hearing what had happened, Emi had a hard time following her daily routine; her mind clouded with anxiety and concern for her older brother. With each painful day, she was reminded that he was somewhere far away from home, surrounded by danger. How she would love to go back to the days where she would scold him for always getting into trouble; how it was rather un-prince like. She'd remember how he would grin sheepishly, apologizing over and over to try to calm her down. However, she knew there was nothing she could do, nothing aside from living life like normal and pray that he would return safely.

She was strolling through the palace courtyard, admiring the flowers to keep her mind off things, when she noticed a familiar face standing around, admiring the view like she was. With a gentle smile on her face, she walked over to the person in question.

"Have you already recovered from your wounds, Misaki?" she spoke up, startling said captain. Misaki turned towards the princess and bowed.

"I am well enough that I can continue my duties," the older woman replied, "I cannot abandon them after all. I do appreciate your concern, Princess."

Emi's smile grew bigger. "I'm glad. You've always put the kingdom and the royal family above anything else. Not only that, but you are an important friend to both me and Aichi. I know he would feel terrible if something bad happened to you."

Misaki returned the smile with one of her own. The two of them began to walk side by side as they decided to keep each other company, divulging in conversation of any random topics that come to mind, feeling the warm summer breeze brush against them. They had been walking for quite a while when Misaki looked up at the clear blue sky; nothing above but a few separate clouds and bird flying by every now and then.

"Today is such a lovely day, don't you think Princess?" she asked the young girl beside her.

Emi lowered her head. "It's peaceful," she replied, "But it's only the calm before the storm. As long as the Void is still around with the power to destroy us, we still have something to fear." She turned towards the captain, who was unable to hide the surprise on her face. It was clear that she wanted to ask why the princess was talking the way she was.

She continued. "I'm a princess. I need to know everything I can to protect the people of this kingdom. I don't want to be kept in the dark if I can do anything to help everyone."

The lilac haired woman was speechless, though she felt it wasn't a bad thing. She knew the princess was mature for her age but never thought she would say anything like that. And yet, something about her words caused her to smile weakly, for they were words similar to those she knew one person would say.

"You both truly are related," she muttered to herself inaudibly.

The two girls continued to walk through the courtyard's garden until they returned to the palace doors. Reiji and Eiji were standing there, waiting. As soon as they caught sight of the princess, they bowed.

"We're ready to escort you to your lessons," both boys spoke in unison.

Emi frowned the moment she saw them, looking rather concerned. Misaki noticed her expression and took note that something indeed felt off. "It's just you two again today?" the young girl asked, "I haven't seen Kamui for almost three days already."

Both male knights flinched the moment they heard Kamui's name. "H-He's off doing some important stuff!" Reiji replied.

"Y-Yeah, very important!" Eiji confirmed his companion's word.

Misaki crossed her arms as she narrowed her eyes upon their reply. "That's weird," she spoke up, "I remember hearing him say at one point that he wouldn't mind throwing away any other jobs as long as he could work near the princess. And I could've sworn I have not given any order for the knights to take on any other jobs than the ones they are already assigned recently."

The young knights trembled at the captain's words. As expected, her perfect memory was not something to be trifled with. The next thing they knew, the captain was kneeling down so she was at eye level with them. To a normal person, she was simply staring at them. However, both boys could see the malice behind her stare; a dark aura illuminating through her entire body. Feeling uncomfortable by her stare was an understatement; it was downright unsettling.

"So boys," Misaki continued, saying each sentence as slowly as she could to get her thoughts across, "Do you happen to know where Kamui is right now and what he could be doing that is more important than his knightly duties?"

Reiji and Eiji shook in fear until they couldn't take it any longer. Both were in tears as they fell to the ground. "We don't know where he is!" Reiji cried.

"Yeah! A couple days ago, he just told us to take care of the princess!" Eiji added on.

"Exactly, and he never told us why!"

"He just vanished after that!"

They broke down in tears, begging the captain to believe them and spare them. It was clear that they were telling the truth. Since they had nothing more they could offer regarding the situation, she dismissed them. The boys made no hesitation to run back to the palace as fast as they could. Emi looked over to Misaki in concern.

"Misaki, is everything okay?" she asked, "You don't think something bad might have happened to Kamui, do you?"

The lilac haired woman looked over to the young princess. She eased her with a simple smile. "Not to worry, Princess," she replied, "I'm sure it is nothing serious. Nonetheless, the fact that he isn't doing his job is inexcusable. I'm going to find out where he is and reprimand him for it."

Emi frowned deeper. "Don't scold him too hard. He must have a good reason. This is the first time he hasn't been around to serve me unless ordered so by you."

The captain bowed. "Of course. You should probably hurry or you'll be late for your lessons."

The young girl nodded before heading into the palace. The moment she was out of sight, Misaki's smile turned into an expression of complete anger. Where was Kamui? She first considered checking up on Naoki since she was in the area and question him on Kamui's whereabouts but she realized looking through her memories she had not seen him once during her walk. This was even more unusual. Naoki was usually in the courtyard napping unless ordered to do something. She sighed. She now had two missing knights to look for. She had kind of hoped she didn't have to deal with this stress immediately after her recovery.

She ventured forth to find them, searching every single room in the palace. She even asked any knights if they had come across them. Unfortunately, it was for naught. Everyone she talked to had no idea where they were. She considered the possibility that they were somewhere in town. However, even as she searched there, she could not find them.

Things were getting serious. Why couldn't she find them within the palace or in town? They couldn't of possibly left the kingdom, did they? Supposing they did, where would they head off to and why? She couldn't think of any possible reason. She pondered about it as she sat in one of the benches in the courtyard, completely exhausted and her joints full of aches. It was obvious she shouldn't be moving around as much as she was after she had just recovered, but the pain was her least concern. Her search left her back where she started. She grew restless from the anxiety. Where could they be? If only there was some clue.

As if on cue, Shingo walked by as he was observing, making sure everything was in order. The moment he noticed her, he walked towards her, looking rather worried. "Captain! Should you be out of bed already after just a couple days of rest?"

She looked up at the royal advisor, clearly showing her irritation. "Even if I wasn't, I can't sit around when there is a conflict at hand."

The young man's eyes widened at the word 'conflict'. He panicked. "There's trouble?! Hopefully nothing regarding Her Majesty or the princess! Or was there news that something bad happened to His Highness?!"

"As far as I know, there is nothing regarding the royal family," she replied, standing back up as she stretched, "Rather, this is a matter regarding my knights."

Shingo sighed in relief but flinched at the mention of 'knights'. "The knights? About what?"

Thinking on it, Misaki realized that she never asked Shingo if he knew anything. Although they always bickered like the polar opposites they were, she knew that Shingo and Naoki had a very close relationship. If something had happened regarding the auburn haired knight, she was sure he would know something, and by extension possibly knowing where Kamui was. She asked him.

The moment he was asked, Shingo began acting strangely. He started fidgeting around, eyes looking everywhere but straight at the captain. His speech was full of stutters. "A-About that… um… w-well, you see… eh…"

Misaki narrowed her eyes. He was hiding something; she could tell. "Shingo, where did they go?"

Shingo continued to stutter as he flailed around. Those wild antics didn't last for long though, for after a bit, he settled down and let out a long sigh. "Well," he began, "I did say I would tell if you or Your Majesty questioned me. They both left the kingdom somewhere. Something like searching for anything Red Winged Clan related so as to ease His Highness when he gets back."

Misaki mentally groaned. Of course they would do something like that. While she admired their determination to do anything to please the prince, she saw no need to divulge into this delusion as well. The clan was fake; it had to be. Nothing directly proved its existence. So why the need to search for it?

But supposing it really was real and Misaki was simply in denial? She had to admit there were some abnormalities, like the history book Aichi had found in the library and the castle ruins beyond the forest. It was possible that the ruins were of a castle that belonged to one of the clans many years ago, but that theory was inconsistent with the history books that said the clans have always lived in their respective areas in the Cloudlands. And that doesn't explain the history book.

She looked back at Shingo, who was still feeling nervous now that he told her what happened to them. She glared at him. Whether the clan was real or not, she needed to get those two back. "Where did they go off to?"

The royal advisor jumped the moment she spoke up. He adjusted his glasses. "W-Well, they never gave an exact location… but I did see them fly west from here."

West? The lilac haired girl considered the possibility that they went to the castle ruins, but that was in the opposite direction. For what reason did they need to go west? Unless…

"Tell Her Majesty I will be gone for a few days to retrieve my knights!" she ordered before setting off into the skies herself. As he watched her leave, Shingo's legs lost all their strength and he collapsed to the ground in relief. He was glad that that was over. However, he worried about what would happen to Naoki and Kamui the moment she finds them. Well, at least he didn't have to pretend like he was hiding anything anymore, and that was most important to him.

XxXxX

The streets were bustling that day. Many people were walking around as they entered and exited the stone buildings and crowded up at the stall selling various things. It surprised both gold winged knights that they weren't drawing any attention from the civilians, and the merchants didn't blink an eye when they bought some food from one of the stalls. It appeared the rumours they had heard were true; the people of the Green Winged Clan were pretty hospitable when it came to people from other clans.

The kingdom of the Green Winged Clan was a thriving kingdom. With the amount of resources found on their land, it was able to prosper greatly, giving it the name of the wealthiest kingdom in the Cloudlands. That along with its justice system, made it a wonderful place for people of other kingdoms to travel to, serving as a good tourist spot.

This led to the reason why both Naoki and Kamui were there. According to Kamui, because the Green Winged Clan was a hotspot for valuable resources, it resulted with the kingdom flourishing in trade practices. Before he became a knight, Kamui lived with his family who worked in the trading business as well. Their strongest partnership was with a trade group in the Green Winged Clan, which specialized in collecting and selling the rarest goods from not only the lands surrounding the kingdom of the Green Winged Clan, but from other places as well. He figured if there were anything that proved the Red Winged Clan's existence, they would have it.

They ended up in front of a big stone building. Outside, there were men carrying wooden crates onto a caravan that waited near the door. Naoki assumed those crates had to be full of goods to ship. Above the door, there was a sign that said 'Handsome Trades'. That had to be the place.

"So here we are!" Kamui declared, feeling rather satisfied, "Once you go in, just tell them I sent you. Hope you find what you are looking for!" He began to walk away before the older knight grabbed him by the collar.

"Where do you think you're going?" Naoki inquired, rather suspicious why the raven haired knight would decide to ditch him after it took a couple of days to get where they were.

The younger knight turned around, his expression one of nervousness. He scratched his head. "Well… I figured I might do some… sightseeing around. Yeah! That's it!"

The auburn haired knight was not amused. "This is not the time! We're here to help His Highness, remember?" He began walking towards the door, dragging Kamui by the collar, although not without any resistance from the latter. The smallest of the knights was struggling to break free, standing his ground and flapping his wings to try to get Naoki to let go. But the person in question would not let go no matter what.

"W-Wait!" Kamui spoke up, "We're tired after traveling here for two days, right? Shouldn't we look for a place to stay the night?"

"We can do it after we've checked here. Even better, we can ask the people that work here if there is a place to stay."

"Then how about some food? You hungry? I can grab us something!"

"This is a trading post. They probably got some food there."

"Why do I need to come with you anyways? Can't you go by yourself?"

"You are the one that led me here! And it would be better if you were here since you can ask for the favour! You're close to them since your family has worked with them, right?"

"They're close to my family. I'm more of an aquarius to them!"

"You mean 'acquaintance'."

"Yeah, that."

Their tug of war continued on, with both sides not giving in. So far, Naoki was winning, being bigger and stronger than his companion. But Kamui had high endurance. Even if it looked like it was in Naoki's favour, he still wasn't going to back down without a fight. The auburn haired knight was getting really tired of this farce, and figured the only way to end this was verbally.

"I don't get it!" he continued, "Why are you hesitating to go in? Don't you want to help His Highness?!"

"Of course I want to help him!" Kamui shouted, "But sometimes you have to draw the line. You don't know what kind of danger I'll be in if I go in there."

Both stopped what they were doing the moment the raven haired male said what he did. Naoki let go of the younger knight. "Did you do something to piss them off or something?"

The younger knight shook his head. "Nothing like that!" He lowered his head. "Rather, it's the opposite."

The older knight sighed, crossing his arms. "You know, I'm actually really ashamed of you. Did you forget what you said back there? You wanted to help His Highness because you know how much he means to both Her Majesty and the princess."

"Yeah, but-!"

"And," Naoki continued, "just imagine if they saw you right now. You don't act like a knight; you act like a little brat who's too chicken to tackle the situation. I can just imagine the disappointment. Why, I don't think the princess would want you protecting her if this is how you are going to be."

At that moment, Kamui stood as tall as he could, sticking out his chest as if he were some tough guy. He wasn't going to let anything get in the way between him and Princess Emi. Filled with determination, he stormed into the building with Naoki following right behind him.

The interior looked more regal compared to outside. Inside was filled with nice furniture suitable for living quarters on top of a scarlet red carpet with gold on the edges covering the entire floor. At the back of the room stood a counter with a man working behind it. He didn't seem to pay attention to the two boys that walked in, for it looked like he was busy looking at papers, no doubt containing a list of goods.

Kamui stood at the entrance, turning his head from side to side as if checking if the coast was clear from something. Once he felt like everything was okay. He walked towards the desk with careful steps. Naoki on the other hand just walked inside normally. He saw no need to act so shifty and still could not understand his younger companion's reason for doing so. By the time they made it to the desk, the man there still didn't notice them. Kamui hid behind Naoki. Seeing how the raven haired male wasn't going to be of any help, the older knight made the first move.

"Yo, excuse me!" he called out, getting the man's attention.

Looking at him carefully, he did look like he would be a scary guy. He was quite on the bulky side with tan skin and black hair under a crimson bandana. Naoki was not scared of him though. He had dealt with bigger and more threatening guys in the past. Even if he was afraid of him, that fear would soon pass away the moment the man began to smile, for he had quite a friendly smile.

"Hey there!" the man greeted him with a jolly laugh, "A knight from the Gold Winged Clan, eh? Surprised to see one come here personally. Usually you all just send some order form for us to ship you goods. What can I do for you?"

"Actually, I'm not here for shipping goods," Naoki replied, "I heard from someone that you keep some pretty rare stuff on you that you don't sell to the other kingdoms."

The smile on the man's face diminished a bit, but still tried to hold out in front of who he may consider a customer. "Something about them you want to know?"

"Is it possible that any of those items may be very rare, maybe so rare they don't belong to any of the five kingdoms?"

"Such as…?"

Naoki took a deep breath. "...Like maybe, you may have something that may have belonged to the Red Winged Clan?"

At that moment, the man's smile disappeared, replaced with a suspecting glare. "Why would you ask that?"

"Our kingdom's prince believes that the kingdom may actually be real," the knight explained, "If there's something that may actually prove it to be true-!?

The man turned his attention back to the form in his hand. "We don't have anything like that."

Naoki was baffled. "Nothing? You have to have something! I was told that you might have something like that!"

"And I don't. If that is all, you may leave."

"Listen here!" the auburn haired knight's temper was slowly growing, "I didn't come all the way out here to get rejected! If you don't have anything like that, then tell me what kind of rare junk you have, huh?!"

It was the man's turn to get angry. From behind the counter, he grabbed the knight's collar. "Don't you ever call my wares 'junk' again. We take pride in the things we collect and sell, having to work our asses off just to find it. Now why don't you run along and fly back to your own kingdom!"

"Like hell I am! I came here for His Highness' sake and I'm not leaving until I get something from this trip!"

"Why don't I give you a black eye then! Satisfactory?!"

Kamui wasn't sure what to do. Rather than hide behind him, he wanted to try to help Naoki out. However, he knew he couldn't. If he did, then he would be drawing out-!

"KAAAAAAAAMUUUUUUUIIIIIII!"

Too late. The next thing he knew, something swooped down from a landing on an upper floor and tackled him to the ground. Both Naoki and the man at the counter stopped arguing and looked over at Kamui. Sitting on top of him appeared to be a young girl with blonde hair, wearing a white blouse and a magenta skirt. She was snuggling into Kamui's chest.

"Oh Kamui!" she cried out, "I missed you so much! You haven't come to visit me at all and when we came over, your parents said you were working at the palace!"

The raven haired male struggled to release himself out of her grasp. She was pretty strong for a girl half his size. "Get off me, Nagisa!" he shouted at the little girl, "Let go!"

Watching the antics that were going on between the two children, the man laughed. "Well, if it isn't Kamui! How have you been, buddy?!"

After much struggling, Kamui finally managed to make the girl, Nagisa, let go. He stood up, scratching his head with a morose expression on his face. "I was fine until what just happened," he muttered.

"Your folks told us you now work at the palace. Pretty good job, eh?"

"I work as one of the knights."

The man's eyes widened as he looked back to Naoki and then back to Kamui. "You mean you are working with this guy?" he asked, pointing as the auburn haired male.

"I was the one who told him about you guys," Kamui replied, "You guys constantly brag about how much rare stuff you had so I just figured-!"

The man continued laughing. "Why didn't you say so?! If I had known, I wouldn't have acted the way I did! Sorry about that!"

Naoki didn't know how to feel about that. He was glad to get an apology, but at the same time he still didn't appreciate the attitude. Not only that, he felt bitter that Kamui didn't help him out earlier.

Suddenly, the man held his hand out to him. "Allow me to introduce myself," he continued on, "The name's Gouki! And this here," he gestured to the girl, "is my lovely little sister, Nagisa."

Nagisa curtised. "Nice to meet you. I'm Kamui's fiancee."

"NO! YOU ARE NOT!" Kamui shouted, "This is why I didn't want to show myself here!"

Naoki scratched his head, looking rather puzzled. "Uh, I'm don't remember much regarding laws in the Cloudlands and stuff, but isn't it not allowed for two people from two different clans to get married?"

Kamui's face brightened the moment he heard that. "Yeah! See? We can't get married!"

The young girl pouted. "That law is stupid. I'm still his fiancee anyways. Right Big Brother?"

Gouki grinned. "Of course! You'll just have to marry illegally." He began to laugh.

"That's not something you should tell your little sister!" Kamui yelled in anger, "What kind of big brother are you?!"

"Oh yeah! Make sure you don't get pregnant either."

"STOP TELLING HER THOSE THINGS!"

"Anyways," Naoki spoke up, getting both males' attention. He cleared his throat. "So, do you have anything on the Red Winged Clan or not?"

The green winged male leered at the auburn haired knight. Was it bad for him to ask? Did he really not have anything and knew nothing about the Red Winged Clan like anyone else? Would they have to look somewhere else for any clues?

But all doubt was gone the moment he saw Gouki smile and reply. "Of course we do."

"You do?" Naoki asked; his eyes gleaming with hope.

"Yep." Gouki looked around to see if anyone else was around. "But I'm only telling you this because you are a friend of Kamui's. Don't tell anyone else."

It was Kamui's turn to speak up. "Is it bad for us to do so?"

"Well, the other clans covered up the Red Winged Clan's existence for a reason. If it's revealed the clan really did exist, then they would have to answer questions about what happened; such as where they are and why they had to disappear in the first place."

He was about to go into more detail when he realized that Nagisa was still in the room. "Nagisa," Gouki spoke up to his little sister, "You still have some work you need to be doing, right?"

Knowing what her older brother was implying, she clinged to Kamui as tightly as she could. "No!" she refused, "I want to stay with Kamui!"

The person in question knew this was going to pose a problem. It was clear that Gouki would do anything to make Nagisa happy, even if it was bad for her education. He had to come up with something quick to get the young girl to leave. He had an idea. "Nagisa," Kamui began, "I wouldn't be happy having to tear you away from your work. You should go finish it."

Nagisa smiled upon the raven haired knight's words. "Oh, Kamui!" she cooed, "You care so much for me, you don't want me to leave my work aside. Don't worry; I'll get it done as quickly as I can so we can spend as much time together as possible!" That said, she flew back up onto the landing she came down from and returned to the room there.

Gouki was relieved that Kamui was able to convince Nagisa to leave for a bit. While she did know a bit about the Red Winged Clan, this was a topic he didn't want to delve into with her in the room. As an extra precaution to make sure she wasn't listening, and because he needed to do so anyway, he gestured for them to follow him through a hallway. Kamui was about to follow when he noticed Naoki's smug grin. He narrowed his eyes.

"What?" the raven haired knight asked his companion; his tone slightly harsh with annoyance.

Naoki chuckled. "You're quite the ladies' man, aren't you? Both the princess _and_ a girl from the Green Winged Clan? You sly bastard."

"It's not like that!" Kamui shouted before lowering the volume of his voice to normal range, "The princess is the only girl for me." Ending the topic with just that, he made his way to the hallway Gouki was in. Naoki trailed behind, still chuckling over his ally's reaction.

Once the gold winged knights had caught up, Kamui brought back up the previous topic. "So the other clans hid the fact that the Red Winged Clan existed? For what purpose would they hide this fact? Is the Red Winged Clan's existence such a bad thing?"

Gouki pondered. "I'm not entirely sure myself," he replied, "I don't know what the Red Winged Clan could have done that resulted in their exile."

Naoki lowered his head. "... I heard that the Red Winged Clan were exiled because of something they made; something called 'the tool'. Would you know anything of it?"

The green winged male shook his head. "Doesn't sound familiar. If that's true though and this 'tool' was the reason behind it, then we might be looking at something pretty dangerous, assuming it isn't already destroyed."

"So what exactly _do_ you know about the Red Winged Clan?"

"Everything I know about them is kept within the archives."

At that moment, they reached a door with a bunch of locks on it. Both gold winged boys theorized that whatever had to be behind that door had to be something meant to be kept secretive. Gouki pulled out something, which was obviously a key. However to their surprise, the key was very tiny. It didn't look like it could be used for _any_ lock, let alone the locks on the door. Knowing what the boys were thinking, Gouki chuckled.

"Doesn't look like this would be the key to the room, does it?" he questioned, "There is a trick to these locks." He pressed onto a part of the door, opening up to reveal as secret keyhole that was around the same size as the key. He placed the key in and turned the lock. All the 'locks' that held the door closed began to unlock one by one until they were all unlocked, opening the door. Gouki pushed the door open, leading the boys in. The two knights could not believe their eyes in what was in there.

The room was filled with tons of safes and bookcases, as well as a lot of things piling up on the ground. It was small compared to the library back at the palace, but they had to marvel at all the things in there. It was clear that this room served as a vault filled with precious items and archives.

Kamui looked up at Gouki. "Are you sure it's okay to let us in here?" he questioned, "How do you know we won't try to steal anything in here?"

The older male looked at the young boy with a seemingly suspicious stare. "Do you plan to steal anything?" he gave a question of his own.

Both gold winged knights tensed up upon seeing that stare. They didn't realize they would be suspected right away or something. They rapidly shook their heads, hoping that was enough of an answer to get him to stop. Gouki simply grinned.

"When you work in this kind of business," he continued, "You need to be a good judge of character. If you're not careful, you can get all of your wares stolen from you. That's why I was cautious when you asked if I had anything involving the Red Winged Clan. After all, not many people ask about it of course, so I was skeptical."

He turned around to face them. "But you guys are truly honest knights. I can see why you would be chosen for such a job. With that, I can trust you. And you say it's to help your prince?"

Naoki nodded. "Yes," he replied, "He's been getting into lots of dangerous situations lately. We want to protect him from getting into any more danger so we are trying to find proof of the Red Winged Clan to put him at ease."

Gouki crossed his arms with an amused smile. "Sounds like a very adventurous guy. Might like to meet him one of these days if I could. I do have some stuff involving the Red Winged Clan, but whether or not it might help you, I'm not sure. But if there is a chance there is, then I would be glad to be of help. Except…" He scratched his head. "I forget where the Red Winged Clan stuff is."

They couldn't believe it. The older male really didn't know where the Red Winged Clan stuff was? Left with no other option, they agreed to help Gouki find them. After all, it wouldn't mean anything if they didn't help with finding them.

And it didn't help that among the first things they learned about being knights is how to be chivalrous.

How long they would have to search; they had no idea. The place was not a total mess but it was enough that the whole thing could take days. Kamui was especially not comfortable having to stick around in a place with a person who had unwanted feelings towards him. However, as knights of the Gold Winged Clan, for the sake of their beloved Prince Aichi, both Naoki and Kamui were willing to deal with this situation, hoping that within this room contained the very thing they needed to reveal the Red Winged Clan's existence and free their prince from this long, overwhelming search.


	14. Chapter 13: Can I Have This Dance?

A couple of days have passed since the decision to do the play started, and with enough motivation to hurry through it, Tsukiko had not only finished writing the script, but also had a couple songs written. However, she believed that it was debatable if these songs were good or not. She still needed to finish up the rest of it, but at least this way they could already start rehearsal. With permission, she was able to book the local theatre when other plays scheduled weren't rehearsing and/or performing at those times.

And luckily for them, it was free that very day.

Kai and Aichi were already in front of the theatre doors, waiting for Miwa and Tsukiko. They were not sure if they were too early or not, but they hoped it wouldn't be long since Tsukiko was given a copy of the key in. After five minutes of waiting, Tsukiko finally appeared, carrying some folders that contained the materials she had completed. She pulled out the key and opened the door, letting the boys in first before entering herself. They walked through the hall and followed the signs placed all over until they reached the stage.

Both Tsukiko and Kai seemed unfazed by it, but Aichi could not believe how massive the area was. The stage itself only took up a quarter of the room while the rest was covered with dozens upon dozens of empty seats. He began to realize that all those seats would be filled with people; eyes staring at him as he performed. He stopped walking, his legs frozen as the rest of his body trembled in nervousness. It was not unnoticed though, for both Kai and Tsukiko looked over at him.

"Are you feeling alright?" Tsukiko asked out of concern.

Aichi looked up at her with eyes full of anxiety. "We are going to perform _here_ , in front of millions of people?"

"Not millions, but yeah, there would probably be a lot of people coming to see it knowing Mr. Nakamura's advertising campaign," she replied. However, she realized her words made it worse when the blue haired boy suddenly collapsed to the ground. She knelt down beside him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "If you are uncomfortable with this, I can search for someone else."

The boy looked over at her; his eyes contemplating the idea of forfeiting the role, but in the end he shook his head. "I'm fine," he replied, "I said I'd play the role and I never go back on my word. Besides, you mentioned before how hard it would be to find someone to play the princess. I don't want to cause you trouble in that regard."

Tsukiko shook her head. "I don't want to force you if you are not really keen on acting in front of many people."

Aichi once again shook his head. "Again, I don't mind. I'm sorry if I made you worry."

They both stood right back up. With everything settled, they began to set up the things they needed to start rehearsal. It was then that Aichi realized another thing.

"Miss Tsukiko," he spoke up, getting the blonde woman's attention, "I'm still willing to play the role, but I have a question. Wouldn't it be weird for a boy to play a girl?"

The older woman grinned. "Not at all!" She began moving enthusiastically as she began to explain. "Why, back when theatre was first a thing, women weren't allowed to to participate in plays, so they could only use boys to play girls! Even nowadays with women involved, you still have men playing women from time to time! Heck, it is even possible for a woman to play a man! I even remember the one time I went to watch a production where the entire cast was female and the lead couple were played by two women! That is how much theatre has evolved over the decades; to the point where gender is irrelevant!"

"I… see…" Aichi replied, taken aback with how passionate Tsukiko was on the subject.

It was then that Tsukiko's expression beamed, as if she had an idea. "You know, I just realized something. We can switch up the roles a little bit. How about instead, Toshiki-?!"

Kai, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke up. "If you are thinking that I play the princess, the answer is no. I'd rather take my chances with the dragon suit."

The blonde haired woman lowered her head in defeat. "You can't blame me for trying."

The brunet crossed his arms. "Are you really _that_ against me playing the role? What is so bad about it that you are willing to go so far as to have me play the woman role?"

Tsukiko waved her hands frantically while shaking her head. "No! It's not like that!" Her expression rapidly changed from one of anxiety to one of realization. "Wait! I think the actual question is what you have against playing as a princess!"

Kai narrowed his eyes. She was deliberately changing the subject. "I just don't want to wear a dress. Now answer my-!"

But the older woman was not going to go down without a fight. "That's all? Just not wanting to wear a dress?" She examined him closely, making the teenage male rather uncomfortable. "Thinking about it, you would look really nice in one! If you put one on, put on some makeup and a wig, you could actually make a convincing looking girl! If you don't believe me, let's ask a third party." She turned towards Aichi. "Aichi, if Toshiki put on a dress, a wig, and makeup, do you think he'd make a beautiful girl?"

Aichi stared at her in confusion at first. However, the moment he processed what she said in his mind, his entire face turned a bright red as he gaped. He was so flustered by the idea, one could swear they could see steam rising out of his head. Tsukiko had an amused yet satisfied grin on her face. She looked back at the brunet.

"I think someone agrees with me," she proudly exclaimed.

It was Kai's turn to have his face turn red. "Don't ask him weird stuff like that!"

"So how about it, Aichi?" the blonde haired woman, ignoring the teen male, "Would you rather play the role of Draco and then we can give the role of Lucia to Toshiki?"

The blue haired boy looked over at Kai before turning back to Tsukiko. He lowered his head. "Honestly, I don't mind playing the role of Lucia. It doesn't seem like Kai would be fine with playing the role himself." He looked back at Kai. "Besides, I think Kai would make a better Draco than I would, and I would rather that everyone be able to enjoy themselves with this. That's enough to make me happy."

Kai was left speechless from Aichi's words. It didn't look at it looking at him, but a small blush had made its way to his cheeks. Tsukiko looked at the two of them with a smile before changing her expression to one of fake annoyance.

"Geez!" she cried out, "Save it for rehearsal, would you?! It's embarrassing watching you two!"

"What the hell do you mean 'embarrassing?'" the brunet snapped, his arms crossed, "Once again, you avoided my-!"

But Tsukiko ignored him, although he considered she was doing it on purpose. "Where is Taishi?" she continued, "I told him to be here with our newest cast members!"

"Newest cast members?" Aichi asked with curiosity.

The older woman faced the young men. "Of course," she replied with a smile, "There are more than three characters in this story. We need to have more actors involved. Sadly though, Taishi told me he was only able to get two more to help. It's understandable though. It is summer break and it won't be long before school starts up again. People would rather want to spend the remaining time having fun. Surprised there wasn't anyone who would be interested in acting in a play. Oh well! Two people is better than none."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Who the hell was Miwa able to convince to be a part of something like this?"

As if on cue, the theatre doors opened, revealing Miwa with two other people. Kai immediately recognized the two. Oh no! Did Miwa recruit-?!

"Everyone!" a loud voice rang across the room, "Your star has appeared! No need for applause!"

Kai groaned. Why him? Why out of all people did they get that idiot involved? Morikawa stood there triumphantly when he noticed Kai. His grin quickly changed to a glare as he began storming his way towards the stage.

"Goddammit!" he cursed at the brunet, "So you're here too, huh? Well, guess what! It's obvious that I'm the better actor here! I'm playing the king! I bet whoever you play isn't as good a role as that!"

Taking his time to join the others, Miwa walked over to Morikawa with Izaki following behind him and placed his hand on the raven haired male's shoulder. "Dude, the king is a side character. I already told you that."

"The king is the king!" Morikawa declared, "He is not a side of anything!"

Everyone stared at him in disbelief. Was there really anyone that stupid enough to not understand the simple concept of a side character, especially is said side character was of high rank? If this were a story, he would probably be the obnoxious side character that considers himself the strongest when in reality, he isn't.

After that, the room was filled with conversation between the five teenage boys. Miwa was still trying to explain the fact that the king is a side character, but Morikawa was still not getting it. Kai just watched in silence. He didn't want to waste his breath in explaining it to an idiot. His attention turned to Aichi, who had begun having a conversation with Izaki. It seemed the two were getting along well despite only just meeting. Kai didn't know what they were talking about, and in all honesty, he didn't care. But he knew it had to be quite a joyous discussion, for he could hear the blue haired boy's melodious laugh. The older male was glad Aichi was enjoying himself, but as he watched, a part of him felt a little bitter, as if slightly annoyed. He didn't know why.

After a bit of time had passed, Tsukiko let out a shout to get the boys' attention and get them back on track for why they were there. She first began with explaining all the roles and who was playing which roles. First were the main roles; protagonist Draco the dragon, love interest Princess Lucia, and the antagonist Lord Maximilian, who were to be played by Kai, Aichi, and Miwa respectively. Then she explained the roles of the king and his page, who were to serve as the comic relief of the show, which was why Morikawa and Izaki were there. Finally, there was the briefest yet one of the most important roles in the story, the witch that gives Draco the potion to turn him into a human. Given the fact that she is only in one scene in the entire production and the only character that interacts with her is Draco, plus the fact that they were limited with actors, Tsukiko figured that she would play the part of the witch. Since she would also be doing a lot of the work behind the scenes, it was decided for the one scene the witch was in, Miwa would take over and they would switch once the scene was done. It helped that with limited resources, they wouldn't have much to do and would be good enough for a beginner to do.

With that out of the way, the blonde woman handed the scripts out. She figured to start off with a readthrough first and then get one of the dance choreographies out of the way. With such limited time before they were to perform, she made sure the script was long enough for around an hour to an hour and a half production. She figured it would be impossible to get done if it went for any longer but at the same time she worried if it was too short. She figured she had found a good balance on the length.

The group began their readthrough; their first time was just simply reading the lines. That didn't mean they couldn't be silly with this readthrough, for there was a part in the script that contained back and forth dialogue between Maximilian and the king. Seeing how over dramatic Morikawa was reading his lines, Miwa decided to read his just as dramatic. But then when it was the page's turn to speak, Izaki decided to surpass them in how over the top he could make his lines. It resulted with the three of them laughing their butts off. Aichi couldn't help but enjoy himself watching the three, laughing along with them as he applauded them for their performance. Tsukiko was also quite amused with the performance the boys were giving, but as director she had to make sure they were all on track.

Once the first readthrough was done, they did a second readthrough; this time trying to act and emote how they should in that particular scene. From time to time, Tsukiko would interrupt and suggest reading it in a different way, so as to get a different feel for how it could sound and see what ultimately worked better in the end. She even gave them pencils so they could write down any notes that could help them in the long run. Kai was surprised. Considering how it felt like Tsukiko didn't know anything about casting, she seemed rather professional with direction and giving her view of how she saw the story play out. Granted, a part of him still wanted no part in this play whatsoever, but at least it felt like it would be tolerable to work on.

But then they got to one of the songs and the dance choreography. It was a number that was to be performed by Draco and Lucia, so Morikawa and Izaki were allowed to leave, leaving Kai, Aichi, Miwa, and Tsukiko. However, Kai wished he could also leave. The blonde woman gave the boys a sheet which contained the steps of the dance before turning on the music player. Watching Tsukiko try to explain the dance while using herself and her son to demonstrate was painful to watch. She was clearly talented at writing stories, designing costumes, and was surprisingly decent at directing and writing songs despite her saying she couldn't, but it was obvious that dancing was not one of her fortes. Despite that, Kai knew he had no right to criticize Tsukiko's dancing. In fact, he was starting to completely regret signing on for this.

But he wasn't alone at thinking Tsukiko's dance was terrible.

From his face cringing up with every step the mother and son combo did, not only did it seem like Aichi had a problem with their dancing, but it seemed like he was having a harder time watching than Kai. After they finished, Tsukiko noticed the blue haired boy's expression and frowned.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

Aichi looked up at her; a part of him ready to blurt out his thoughts, but there was still a part of him that was restraining himself.

"If there is something you wish to say, I'm all ears," she continued, "I won't hold it against you."

As if it were a spell, everything that took the blue haired boy was voicing his voice magically disappeared and it all spilt out. "That dance was terrible!" The moment he said it, he covered his mouth with his hands, staring at the older woman with widened cerulean eyes that resembled a deer staring at headlights.

But Tsukiko didn't appear angry. Rather, her eyes beamed in curiosity by his words. "Care to elaborate?"

Relieved his outburst did not anger the older woman, Aichi brought his arms down and took a deep breath before giving his thoughts. "Well, first I want to confirm something. That dance; is it some form of waltz?"

The blonde woman nodded. "Yes," she replied, "I was debating between standard and Viennese but decided on standard with its slower movement since I felt it fits the romantic mood of both the song and the scene overall. After all, this is supposed to be the moment when Draco and Lucia meet again after Draco becomes human."

Aichi nodded in understanding. He stood up, holding the sheet with the dance steps in his hand. "It's as I thought. Your movements were rather stiff and your steps came off rather clumsy. Waltzes are full of fluidity… and stuff." He chuckled, rubbing his head. "Sorry. It's hard for me to explain."

Tsukiko shook her head. "That's quite alright," she giggled, "I know I'm not that good a dancer. I always was a wallflower at parties." Her eyes beamed in realization. "But wait! The fact that it seems like you know how to waltz properly; could it be you know how to dance?"

The blue haired boy lowered his head as he gave a sheepish grin. "My… parents got me to learn all types of ballroom dancing at a young age. They made sure I was able to do it and do so properly."

"Sounds like your parents put you through quite a profound education."

After that, Aichi and Tsukiko spent the rest of the time discussing the dance. The blue haired boy pointed any of the steps shown on the sheet that looked a little off to him and the older woman listened and took these points into consideration. Seeing how the two were deep in conversation, Miwa sat down next to Kai, trying to have a conversation of his own with the socially awkward brunet, and unfortunately not having any luck with that.

With how much more understanding he had with dancing, Tsukiko begged Aichi to be the one to come up with the dance choreographies. The young male had no idea what to say, considering he had never taught anyone any dance in his entire life, having been the one that needed to be taught. But with how desperate the blonde woman was and considering part of why he wanted to help out with play was because it would be a new experience for him, Aichi decided to help out.

Once that was decided, first day of rehearsal was officially over. Aichi asked if he could borrow the stage area for a little bit longer so he could practice and fix up any part of the dance that looked a little off. Tsukiko told him that he could borrow it while she went to do some errands, but told him that she would come back to lock up once she was done. Not wanting to leave Aichi on his own, Kai told the older woman he'd be sticking around as well. With all said and done, both Tsukiko and Miwa left, leaving the two boys alone on the stage.

With the exception of the music and the sounds of Aichi's steps as he tried to figure out what would fit with the song, it was rather quiet. Kai just stood around, watching Aichi while contemplating the idea of actually quitting the production. Sure, that would mean Tsukiko would have to search for a new Draco, though he figured she would be oddly ecstatic for that. And then there was the fact that he would be leaving Aichi in the hands of another to play Draco, but that wasn't his concern, right? But that didn't matter. He was sure Aichi would understand. He was stupid to even accept the role in the first place, especially realizing now that he would have to-!

"Kai?" Aichi's voice interrupted the brunet's thoughts. Kai made eye contact with the other male, giving his full attention as to what he would want. The blue haired boy lowered his gaze and fidgeted with his fingers. He was not sure how to ask the older male. Taking a deep breath, he decided to go for it.

"I was wondering," he continued," Well, I've been realizing it's kind of difficult of trying to figure out the dance by myself. A waltz is a two person dance after all. So, if it's at all possible… could you help me by joining me in this dance?"

So that was what Aichi wanted? Kai crossed his arms. He replied with a simple "No."

Aichi's eyes widened at the answer. "But why?" he asked, "It's to help with the play. And it would benefit you since this dance is between Draco and Lucia. We can not only figure out a dance for the two, but also practice it enough so we don't have to worry about it later."

"It wouldn't benefit me," Kai responded, "Because once Miss Tsukiko comes back, I'm telling her I'm quitting the play."

"Quitting?" Aichi gasped, "Why this change of heart? Are you really against acting that much?"

"It's not the acting. That's become the least of my worries?"

"The dragon suit then?"

"At least the dragon suit wouldn't show my face."

"Is it the fact that Morikawa is a part of the play then?"

"That guy is a problem I have to deal with whether I'm in the play or not."

"Then what is it?!" Aichi shouted in frustration, "What is it that is so bad you want to quit despite everything that's happened?!"

"It's none of your business," said Kai.

But the blue haired boy kept pushing, refusing to back down unless he got an answer. "What is it?!"

Kai eventually snapped. "Fine then! I'll tell you! The truth is that I…" He paused before muttering the rest of the sentence, unable to believe he was able to reveal something embarrassing to the younger male. It was barely audible, but Aichi was able to hear it. He stared at the brunet in disbelief. Did he hear right? Was it really true?

Toshiki Kai; the same guy who was able to excel in almost everything he did, was a bad dancer?

Eventually the shock passed away, and Aichi was unable to stop himself from letting out a little chuckle. Kai glared at him. "What the hell is so funny?" he growled.

"I'm sorry," Aichi replied, trying to stop himself from giggling, "It's just…" He wasn't able to finish that sentence. Ever since he met the human male, he came off as someone so perfect that no one could surpass him in anything. He didn't even seem like he could be a real person with how perfect he looked. Aichi couldn't help but see him as someone amazing because of it. And now he learned of one thing Kai was not good at, and the blue haired boy thought he would be disappointed in the fact that the older male was not perfect at all. But he wasn't. On the contrary, he was giddy with the fact that Kai wasn't this perfect person he came off as, not as a form of superiority towards being good at something that the brunet wasn't, but the fact that it proved that Kai was mortal like him; that he also had his flaws as well.

He felt like there wasn't much distance between them at all.

Aichi finally managed to stop his bits of laughter and gave Kai a smile. "Not being good at dancing doesn't mean you should quit," he continued, "Rather, this could be a good opportunity to become a better dancer."

"And how am I going to become a better dancer through this?" Kai asked out of skepticism.

The blue haired boy blushed as he averted his gaze. "Well… I could teach you. I mean, who better to teach you how to dance like a prince than… well, an actual prince?"

Kai couldn't believe his ears. Aichi was offering to teach him to dance? "This is stupid," he muttered before he started walking away. He stopped, however, when he felt something grab his hand. He turned to face Aichi, who had a pleading expression on his face.

"Please? At least try."

What the brunet wouldn't give to push the younger male away and storm on home by himself, regardless of if that meant the latter would be at risk of danger or not. But the moment he saw those cerulean eyes shimmering with a hopeful gaze, he threw those thoughts out the window. He gave a sigh as he relaxed his body, ultimately giving in to the boy's request.

Aichi smiled, and Kai could've sworn the formerly winged male was glowing. Not wanting to waste any more time, the blue haired male pulled the human male until they reached the music player. Once the music started playing, they moved to center stage. Aichi repositioned the hand that was already holding Kai's and led the brunet's other hand so it rested on the shorter boy's shoulder before placing his own on the latter's waist. "I'll lead you through the basic steps."

And so, Aichi began teaching Kai the basics of the waltz, giving him pointers about the tempo he must follow and the like. There were a few instances where Kai would stumble with his steps or accidentally step on his partner's foot, and it didn't help that usually their roles in the dance would be reversed due to their height, but Aichi just simply smiled and kept patient as they tried again and again. It was awkward for the brunet, and he hated the idea of embarrassing himself, even if it was in front of just one person. But as they kept going, he was able to feel more comfortable and as ease with dancing, even when he screwed up a step. He wondered why. Could it be because it was Aichi teaching him? He looked up at the blue haired boy. His smile, his movements, even the way he guided Kai through the dance; for a brief moment, Aichi truly looked like a real prince.

Once it seemed like the older male was finally getting the hang of it, Aichi stopped, rearranging his and Kai's hand positions to the opposite. "Now it's your turn to lead!" he chirped, "And this time try to keep your eyes off the ground. One must always look into the eyes of his partner when he dances." He chuckled as he blushed. "That's what my instructor says anyway."

It would be a lie to say that Kai didn't feel nervous. Rather, it didn't show in his face, but he felt like a wreck. But then he found himself staring into those beautiful blue hues that glimmered like diamonds and he was able to relax. Taking a deep breath, Kai firmly gripped Aichi's hand before he began moving, leading Aichi with his steps to the best of his ability. There were some missteps every now and then, but other than that it seemed like the brunet had finally got the hang of it. After a few more minutes, they stopped. Aichi couldn't contain his grin from seeing how the human male was progressing.

"That was great!" he cheered in pure bliss, "Seems like it won't be long before you'd be able to dance like a pro. You're definitely doing better than I did when I first started. It took me three days before I could stop tripping."

Aichi pulled away from the brunet, walking over to the music player to turn it off. Kai subconsciously stretched his arm out to grab that hand that held his before he stopped himself, realizing what he was doing. He stared at his hand; a tender warmth lingered where the smaller hand touched. He lowered his hand down, unaware that he was clenching his hand, as if cherishing that warmth.

"But yeah, it's amazing that you are progressing so quickly," Aichi continued, looking back at his improving companion, "Like this, not only will you be able to learn how to dance properly, you might be able to master any dance you need to do for the play!" Aichi gasped in realization. He began to panic. "Oh no! I haven't made much progress on the choreography! Miss Tsukiko may be back any moment! Who knows if we'll get more chances like this! Will Miss Tsukiko even allow us to borrow the stage alone again? But that's only if there isn't anyone using the stage, right? Oh no!"

Kai watched as the younger male began pacing in anxiety. He walked over to the blue haired boy, placing his hands on the latter's shoulders to halt him. Glassy eyes looked up at him, tears threatening to fall. The brunet sighed. "If I said the apartment has enough space for you to practice the choreography and I would allow you to do so, will that be enough to make you happy?"

While his tone and the way he worded it sounded harsh, Aichi could hear the kindness in the older male's words. He sniffled. "I'm sorry," he spoke up, "I just want to do my best to help make this a great production. Miss Tsukiko was right when she said it wasn't easy."

The two stayed like that until the younger of the two finally managed to calm down. Kai pulled out his cell phone from his jeans pocket and looked at the time. Tsukiko would be returning soon. He put the phone away and looked up at Aichi.

Or at least where Aichi was standing before he walked off somewhere.

He looked around until he finally saw Aichi walking upstage right towards some boxes that stood there. There was something in particular that caught his eye in one of the open boxes; a familiar shape he didn't know humans had, at least from what he had seen. He pulled it out and examined it. Kai walked over to him.

"Something about that sword?" he asked, "It's not real, you know. It's plastic."

Aichi looked over at Kai before returning his gaze to the sword. "I figured," he replied, "It's way too light to be a real sword. Even a practice sword has more weight."

"I take it you know about swords?"

"I had to learn how to use a sword at ten years old," the blue haired boy remarked as he began swinging the fake sword, "It is required for me as future king of the Gold Winged Clan. I don't mean to brag, but people tend to praise my swordsmanship."

Kai walked over to the boxes, noticing another plastic sword in the box, and picked it up. Being made of plastic, it was indeed very light. It was something even a child could pick up. "Having to learn to use a sword at ten years old?" he questioned, "You just swing it around. That doesn't require teaching."

Aichi grimaced at Kai's words. "If my sword fighting instructor heard you say that, he could give you a good smack on the head." Using the sword in his hand, he clashed it with the sword Kai was holding and forced it to the side. "Swordplay is a lot more complex than you think. It's not something anyone can do in such a short amount of time."

The brunet responded by putting all his strength into pushing Aichi's sword back. "That so? I'm a quick learner. I'm sure I can pick up how you fight and match it just by fighting once."

In one sudden movement, the winged male used his sword to push the other boy's back just enough so he could pull away and put some distance between them. "True, you are a quick learner, but even though you've managed to do the basic steps you haven't fully mastered how to waltz. The waltz and swordplay are similar in a way; both have subtle things that can make or break how well you do. However, I'd argue swordplay is a lot harder."

A smirk appeared on Kai's face. "We'll see about that." With no hesitation, he went for the plunge; the swords clashing together with a loud smack. Kai kept swinging and lunging the sword with as much strength as possible, but Aichi was able to block every single one of his attacks.

"You're being too aggressive," he heard Aichi speak up; his tone monotonous. Kai was taken aback by the expression on the blue haired boy's face; serious and determined. But that was a mistake on the older male's part. He was so distracted from the boy's face that if he a little slower, he would've failed to block that attack. He couldn't believe how swift Aichi's movements were. Kai had a tough time trying to block every single one.

Eventually, the brunet took a chance to take the offensive again. He obviously wasn't going anywhere from staying in defensive. Once it seemed like the younger male was starting to slow down, he took this chance to lunge his sword at him. But Aichi was one step ahead of him. As Kai lunged his sword, Aichi twirled his body, not only dodging the taller male's attack, but was now in a position to land a counterattack now that his opponent's guard was down. All of that happened so quickly that Kai was not able to pick up on it right away and he ended up getting a good smack on the back with the sword. It was made of plastic so the impact didn't hurt, but it did cause him to stumble a bit.

He immediately regained his balance and turned towards the blue haired boy, who still held his sword up in defense as he began to pace around the human male. Was this really the same Aichi who not that long ago was teaching Kai how to dance with a gentle smile on his face? The Aichi in front of him now appeared to be emotionless; cerulean eyes scanning the brunet as of his next move. Kai gripped the hilt of his sword tighter. He refused to be treated like a fool. Once again, he charged at the blue haired boy.

But once again, Aichi was able to block his attack. "Kai, didn't I just say you are being too aggressive?!" he exclaimed, "If you keep charging at me like this, you won't get a single hit in!" To prove his point, he kept blocking every single one of Kai's moves. The older male utterly awestruck. How was Aichi able to do that?

"Swordplay is not just about offense," the blue haired boy continued, "You must also be on the defensive at all times. You don't know where your opponent will strike." Once again, Aichi managed to strike in a place where Kai was not properly guarded.

Again and again, Kai kept charging in, trying to land a blow. However, Aichi managed to stop them every time and land a successful counterattack. Kai was definitely the stronger of the two, not just by his size but also the force of his attacks, but Aichi was advantageous in both skill and agility, and this battle made it clear which was better.

Eventually, Kai gave up. He collapsed to the ground, dropping the plastic sword in the process, and took deep breaths. It was official; swordplay was not for him. But hey, even a guy like him could have something he could never be good at as much as he'd try. He was human.

A small hand reached out towards him. "I'm sorry about that. Are you alright?"

Kai looked up to see those familiar, kind eyes again. He was glad to see those eyes come back. He took the hand that was being offered to him and stood back up. "Never thought you'd be the type to get ruthless like that."

Aichi blushed. "Sorry, I'm not usually like that," he explained, his voice sounding slightly melancholic, "It's just when you called swordplay just 'swinging a sword around', something in me just snapped." He picked up the sword on the ground and carried the two swords back to the box. "Swordplay has another name among my people in the Gold Winged Clan; the 'dance of death'. When two people are locked in a normal dance at a ball, you can stumble and the worst you'll get is embarrassment and sometimes a broken bone. But when two people are locked in a battlefield through swordplay, one wrong move could cost you your life." He lowered his head. "It's become a tradition that the heir of the Gold Winged Clan must learn swordplay not just as means to protect oneself and the people, but as well as to honor the previous kings, including ones that have died in the heat of battle, like my father."

Kai lowered his head, instantly regretting his words and actions back there. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

The winged male shook his head as he turned back towards the brunet. "Don't worry! I know you meant no ill will towards it."

It became silent, neither sure of what to say. The air around them had become awkward after everything that had happened. Eventually, Tsukiko finally returned, telling the two that it was now time for them to leave while she locked up. Aichi apologized to her, explaining that he wasn't able to do much on the choreography, but had assured her that he was working on it. The older woman smiled, assuring the blue haired male that he didn't need to get so stressed over it and that she was fine with him taking as much time as possible provided it didn't take too long. Once all was said and done, the boys left the theatre and returned home to the apartment.

Not much was said between the two even after they got home. They just ate dinner and then they went to do their own thing; Kai watching TV and Aichi planning the choreography. That continued on for quite a while before it was time for bed. However, Aichi refused to go to sleep that night. He was determined to work on writing down the choreography to the best of his ability. Kai decided to ignore him and try to go to sleep, or at least attempt before the nightmares keep him up.

It wasn't like it would be harmful to the blue haired boy if he stayed up one night, right?


	15. Chapter 14: Much Needed Rest

Habits can be rather nasty things. Whether they seem harmless, are completely disgusting, or are something that can affect your health, once one starts, it is difficult to stop. Never did Kai know that he would ever get to learn a habit of Aichi's. Apparently the blue haired boy is quite a dedicated worker; he will put his all into finishing something to the point of staying up all night just to get it finished.   
  
However, once he starts, he won't stop.   
  
Aichi kept working from morning to night without any sleep. Whenever he wasn't at rehearsal or going through daily things like eating and using the bathroom, he would be working on the routine. From time to time, he would ask Kai to assist him in testing it out to see if it looked good. Every night, when Kai woke up due to his nightmares haunting him, he would look over at the desk to see Aichi still working, surprised that the blue haired boy would not even notice he was awake. While he admired how hardworking the younger male was, he was beginning to feel a little concerned. He could see dark bags under cerulean eyes, and it seemed like Aichi was having a tough time focusing. He even brought this up, but the winged male would not listen to him. He was determined to get the choreography done.   
  
Three days had passed when Aichi finally finished it. He was excited to show it to Tsukiko, who was probably anxious to see it. When they got to the theatre and Aichi handed the paper with the steps to her, the blonde woman praised him. She wanted to start the dance immediately.   
  
And that's when it happened.   
  
Kai and Aichi were practicing the dance with Tsukiko giving some pointers on what type of mood to set while dancing and the expression they should give. It was going well when Kai noticed Aichi was stumbling quite a bit. It wasn't bad at first, but then his stumbles were replaced with him losing his footing and falling. Kai was able to catch him every time. It was to the point where everyone was starting to get concerned. Aichi kept assuring them he was fine, but it wasn't convincing. The pattern kept repeating itself until when Aichi fell into Kai's arms one more time, he had fallen unconscious.   
  
Everyone's concern turned into full out worry as the rest of them rushed over to where Kai was kneeling down; Aichi still in his arms. Tsukiko examined the blue haired boy, looking over his condition. Everyone was relieved when she explained that he only fell unconscious due to lack of sleep. However, he was slowly developing a bit of a fever so it was best that he was returned home and have proper rest. Tsukiko felt guilty about the whole thing, feeling like none of this wouldn't happen if she agreed to push the responsibility on the younger male. She felt like a failure as a director if it meant one of her cast members got sick like this. Miwa quickly cheered her up, responding that there was no way any of them would pick it up.   
  
It was decided that not only should Kai take Aichi home, but Aichi was given a couple days to recuperate until he felt better. However, that didn't mean that Kai was excused from rehearsal himself. If Aichi was still not feeling better to the point where he needed to be looked after, Miwa offered to take care of him in Kai's absence. With that all planned, Kai took Aichi home, making sure he got some rest.   
  
As he walked the streets with the younger male held like a princess in his arms, the brunet was reminded of that day less than a week and a half ago; the day he found Aichi unconscious near the lake in the park. He was carrying the blue haired boy home in the exact same way he was now, heading home to his apartment where he will most likely let the winged male sleep in his bed again. He was even having the same trouble of getting his key out and unlocking the door like he did that day. As he walked in and reached the bed, he half expected there to be a small thump, like that day did when the pendant Aichi had always been wearing fell out and onto the floor, but he knew that wouldn't happen. For one thing, the pendant had a new chain, so unless it was put on poorly or the chain was somehow at a state to break easily, there was no way it would fall out. Besides, Aichi wasn't even wearing the pendant at the moment. He mentioned to the older male that the pendant was too precious for him to wear out and about in a place he barely knew, so he felt it best to leave it at the apartment.   
  
Kai was about to place Aichi gently down onto the bed and then go read a book or something when he found himself being pulled down onto the bed. Aichi was subconsciously holding himself close to the brunet in his sleep. Kai tried to pull himself out of the smaller male's arms, but somehow had trouble doing so. It was like Aichi developed super strength in his sleep. Either that or he was persistent on holding on to the other male as tightly as possible. Whatever was the case, Kai couldn't break out of the winged male's grasp. In the end, he just gave up, letting his whole body rest onto the soft, comfortable mattress.   
  
Once he was settled down, he stared at the blue haired boy's sleeping face. Funny how every little thing had him reminiscing about that day. It surprised him that just thinking about it was a good feeling. In just less than a week and a half, Aichi's existence felt so natural, as if he had always been a part of Kai's life. Subconsciously, he brought his hand to the sleeping male's cheek, gently caressing it. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the sleeping male, even if he wanted to. There was something mesmerizing with those closed eyes with long eyelashes, his rose tinted cheeks, those flower petal-like lips, oh god his lips! They looked so soft, so tempting. He slowly leaned forward, the distance between their faces decreasing by the second. His lips were hovering over the blue haired male's before Kai realized what he was doing and quickly pulled away.   
  
Or at least he tried, but just as he was pulling away, Aichi, still in deep slumber, pulled himself closer to Kai so his face was pressed against the older male's collarbone; their bodies intertwined in a deep embrace. Kai couldn't believe what he was about to do. Was he really about to kiss a sleeping Aichi without his consent? No, that wasn't the issue. The fact that he even wanted to kiss Aichi in the first place was what was bothering him. It wasn't the fact that Aichi was a boy. He didn't care about gender. He just never thought he saw the blue haired male in that light. No, that was not true. With how he had been acting recently and Miwa's teasing on the whole thing, deep down he kind of suspected that might've been the case.   
  
Might he have feelings for Aichi?   
  
Kai shook those thoughts out of his head. There was no way he had feelings for the winged male. He was probably just pent up with the stress of everything that had been going on for the last week and a half. He couldn't picture himself falling in love with anyone. He didn't even want to look for love. Why would he when the concept of love was something that could not be guaranteed for life? The very idea of chasing after something like love was nothing more than masochistic; something completely idiotic.   
  
His thoughts were interrupted as a few of the hairs on Aichi's head began to tickle the older male's nose a bit. He was glad it wasn't enough to get him to sneeze. He was often told his sneezes were strong enough that they could be destructive. Obviously an exaggeration, but he didn't want to risk waking up the blue haired male. Sure, the younger male was quite the deep sleeper, but Kai didn't want to take that chance, even if that chance would mean he would be released from the confines that were Aichi's lithe arms. The winged male needed his rest after all.   
  
He rested his head in Aichi's hair, getting a whiff of a familiar scent. It was the same scent he smelled that day when Aichi kept falling onto him; the time when Miwa came in and had that misunderstanding that the two were in some form of intimate relationship. There was something rather therapeutic about that scent; a sweet, intoxicating aroma that relaxed his entire body the moment it entered through his nostrils. He leaned his face deeper into Aichi's hair, breathing it all in. It was soothing, refreshing. His entire body felt heavy as his mind began to drift off. Within the sleeping Aichi's embrace, Kai too also fell into a deep sleep.   
  
XxXxX   
  
A week and a half had passed since he went to the castle ruins to explore the booby trapped basement and Ren had finally returned home to the kingdom of the Black Winged Clan, exhausted and frustrated. How could a room have so many traps if there was nothing inside? The only possibility would've been if someone had been there before and taken what was there, but that was impossible. After the Red Winged Clan was exiled, the rest of the clans made sure that most if not all of the Red Winged Clan's existence was erased. Unless any had found the ruins by chance, there was no way they should've known they were here. So then why could he not find anything in the basement? He searched every nook and cranny and had found nothing to show for it.   
  
His thoughts were interrupted as he heard footsteps walk in. He raised his gaze towards the room's newcomer. Tetsu stopped a few meters away from the throne and bowed before his king before speaking his mind.   
  
"I beg your pardon, Your Majesty," he began, "But I've come to ask if you need some knights to stay to look around the ruins."   
  
Ren glared at him. "I don't want anything to do with those ruins anymore," he growled, "Tell any men that are still there to return to the castle!"   
  
Tetsu frowned. "Your Majesty," he continued, "It is not like you to give up when you are sure about something. As far as we know, if there is something important down there, it is well hidden."   
  
The crimson haired male stood up and began to pace around the room. "Of course it is well hidden. I've searched everywhere! I tried every single method I could think of to find anything, whether it is hidden or in plain sight! BUT NOTHING! NOT EVEN SOMETHING THE SIZE OF A PEBBLE!" He leaned against the closest wall, using his free hand to rub the temples of his forehead from the horrible headache all his yelling was causing him. He had never felt agitated with anything before. Even when things hadn't gone completely his way, even when he got angry, it would never get to this level. Not even the events of his past got like this. So many traps and nothing there; there was no way anyone else knew about the castle ruins, he was sure of it. The only conclusion he could think of was that the person who made these traps had to be a complete genius.   
  
It was then that something occurred to Ren. A genius? In the Red Winged Clan? He turned to his knight, wanting to see if his theory might be correct. "Tetsu? As you know, each clan has a strength unique to that specific clan, correct? Do you know what the strength of the Red Winged Clan is?"   
  
Tetsu was unsure of why his king would ask such a question, but rather than question it, he answered honestly. "The Red Winged Clan's strength was in their bravery as well as having the strongest warriors in the Cloudlands, right?"   
  
Ren nodded. "Would you say they are intelligent?"   
  
"Of course. They have come up with brilliant strategies to battle the Void's monsters and won any wars against them."   
  
"But are they intelligent enough to make traps and hide things in places no one would be able to find?"   
  
Tetsu was at a loss for words with that comment. "Is there something wrong with that, Your Majesty?"   
  
"The Red Winged Clan excels in war related material," Ren replied, "They put their all into protecting the Cloudlands. With them gone, that role is split between the other five clans. Traps are unusual for the Red Winged Clan because they prefer to fight with pure strength, even more so to hide something and perfectly well."   
  
"Maybe they had assistance from someone from another clan?" Tetsu asked.   
  
"But see, the only people that could have that amount of intelligence are those from the Silver Winged Clan. Supposing they assisted the Red Winged Clan, they would have the opportunity to disarm the traps and take what is hidden there. But no, that is not possible. I have this nagging feeling that it is someone in the Red Winged Clan that made those traps."   
  
The knight was confused. "But Your Majesty! Is it a big deal for someone in the Red Winged Clan to have that amount of intelligence? You talk about the general intelligence of an entire clan, but you neglect what an individual's intelligence could be. It varies from person to person."   
  
But Ren did not listen. He began pacing around the room, pondering this dilemma. Tetsu, knowing his king would not listen when he's deep in thought, just kept in silence, standing like a statue, until the crimson haired male spoke to him again and/or dismissed him. After ten minutes, Ren came into realization and turned his gaze back to the raven haired male.   
  
"Tetsu!" he exclaimed, "I just realized! That nagging feeling I have; it could be connected to my powers!"   
  
"How so, Your Majesty?" Tetsu asked.   
  
Ren continued. "You see, Tetsu, there was a book I read in the past that spoke of a power shared by the six rulers of the Cloudlands; a power that helped defend them from some of the biggest threats the Void brought to the lands. These powers varied depending on the situation; it could be gaining a massive boost of intelligence, communicating with wildlife, sense the emotions in one's heart or see future events to come, or if they wanted to, they could become one with the Cloudlands itself and have massive power."   
  
"They can do that?"   
  
"Only the most powerful could do that, but yes." Ren looked up at the ceiling. "They have long past, but when one with the power dies, it passes to a newborn child, thus repeating the cycle. Aside from myself, I only know of three others that contain the gift. I've already brought up my interest in Prince Aichi of the Gold Winged Clan, but the other two are those who are not afraid to hide their power; Lord Takuto of the Silver Winged Clan, and Master Leon of the Aqua Winged Clan." He looked back down and continued to pace once again. "I would assume the gift is passed down to royalty. However, there have been no signs that Emperor Kenji of the Green Winged Clan can use its power. That just leaves the Red Winged Clan. I'm going to find that person."   
  
Tetsu bowed. "If you don't mind me asking, Your Majesty, how do you plan to find them? Do you even know where the Red Winged Clan was exiled?"   
  
Ren chuckled. "Of course I do. They are in a place no one would dare find them." With that said, he dismissed Tetsu, who bowed once more before leaving. Once the raven haired male was gone, Ren exited the throne room himself and headed to the tower where the crystal ball was. He spoke the spell needed and used it on the crystal ball. Kyou's face was shown within the glass.   
  
"How is progress with capturing Prince Aichi?" he questioned him.   
  
The silver haired male scratched his head. He seemed hesitant to say anything, but eventually sighed and gave in. "We are trying, Your Majesty," he replied, "However... we've been unable to catch him."   
  
The crimson haired male frowned; his brows furrowed. "How are you unable to catch him?! He is weak! He shouldn't be able to fight back!"   
  
"And he can't!" Kyou retorted, but then realized how much more of a hole he was digging up for himself. How embarrassing would it be for him to confess that he and his boys were defeated by a human. It would be worse than saying they lost to a winged prince who can't fight back. He had to come up with something; a little white lie to protect his dignity. There was no way he was going to look like a fool in front of that tyrant of a king.   
  
"Apparently there is another one with him," he continued, "Another winged being that fights like a beast. My boys and I tried to fight him, but the next thing we knew we were down for the count and he disappeared with the prince."   
  
This made Ren rather curious. Was he telling the truth or was he just making it up? "What colour wings?"   
  
Kyou gulped. Of course he would ask the colour wings. He needed to come up with the colour and fast; something completely believable. He smiled as he came up with one. "It was someone from the Red Winged Clan!"   
  
The crimson haired king's eyes widened at the name. "The Red Winged Clan?! You are sure of it?!"   
  
The silver haired male's grin grew bigger. The king believed him. "Most definitely. He came in acting all heroic, telling us to let go of the prince. He had quite the intimidating aura."   
  
This was rather peculiar. What would the Red Winged Clan want with the prince of the Gold Winged Clan? Was it possible they wanted to use him to rid them of their exile and return to the Cloudlands? No, he couldn't let that happen! His plan relied that the Red Winged Clan remained exiled. He looked back at Kyou with a serious expression on his face.   
  
"You have two more objectives to add along with capturing Prince Aichi," he explained, "The first is that I want you to find the leader of the Red Winged Clan. There is something I wish to find out with them. I will contact you frequently to check up on you since I know you require no knowledge to contact me yourself."   
  
Kyou began to panic. "B-But how do we find them?"   
  
"How you ask?" Ren's expression darkened even more, "You simply need to defeat the man from before; the one that came to Prince Aichi's aid."   
  
"... I do?" The silver haired male realized he was in trouble. He was just lying out of his butt to reduce the embarrassment of being unable to capture the Gold Winged Clan's prince. He didn't expect the king to actually make him find the Red Winged Clan.   
  
"Your second objective," the crimson haired male continued, "is to make sure the Red Winged Clan doesn't get any ideas as to return to the Cloudlands. It's not much different from your original objective as I believe they will use Prince Aichi to their benefit."   
  
'That one doesn't sound too bad," Kyou remarked in his thoughts. He highly doubted the Red Winged Clan, if they were really there, would actually look for the prince let alone try to return to the Cloudlands. He'd might as well call that objective complete. He knew he had to hurry though. There were a little more than three weeks left until the portal to return to the Cloudlands opens again. He swore to the king that he would do as much as possible before communications between them were off. When Kyou was no longer seen on the crystal ball. Ren yawned. After spending a lot of time searching the ruins, he figured it was time for him to get some much needed rest.   
  
XxXxX   
  
The first thing Aichi saw when he woke up was a close up of a collarbone surrounded by black fabric. He found it quite unusual. Why would he be looking at someone's collarbone? Since his mind still slightly out of it since he had only just woken up, it took him a little bit before he realized the situation.   
  
Himself. And Kai. In Kai's bed. Together. With their arms around each other. Embracing.   
  
His face red as a tomato, Aichi squeaked in embarrassment as he tried pulling away only to be pulled back into the embrace from a still sleeping Kai. It made the blue haired boy more aware of the difference between their sizes and strength, despite being close in age. He eventually just gave up and laid there, figuring the older male would probably wake up sooner or later.   
  
With nothing to do, he pondered what resulted with them being in quite the compromising position they were in. All he remembered was that they went to rehearsal; Aichi feeling quite pleased with himself for finishing the choreography for the dance. He and Kai were then going to practice when…   
  
He remembered. He collapsed from exhaustion. The brunet must've carried him all the way back to the apartment afterwards. Aichi frowned. He had always been causing Kai trouble since they first met. He was surprised the latter hadn't kicked him out already. It just showed how much of a kind person the older male was, despite how he acted towards people. He knew he had to apologize to Kai the moment he woke up, though he knew it would result with him telling the younger male not to apologize.   
  
It wasn't just Kai he knew he had to apologize to. He knew he must've worried everyone else. Miwa, Tsukiko, Morikawa, Izaki; they all must've been rather concerned the moment he collapsed. He felt pathetic. How could he call himself the future king of the Gold Winged Clan if he had to be constantly rescued by other people? He had to be a huge failure of a prince. He knew he could never reach the same level of greatness as the previous rulers of the Gold Winged Clan. Ever since he was a little boy, he had constantly heard stories of all the great things all the previous kings had done in their lifetime. There was no way he could ever do things like they did. All the negative thoughts swirling through the blue haired male's head did not help any self esteem he had. He felt himself brimming at the verge of tears.   
  
As if subconsciously feeling the pain the winged male was going through, Kai pulled Aichi closer to him so there was barely any space between them. The sudden warmth felt comforting, and Aichi couldn't stop himself from clinging onto the human male tightly, hiding his face deep in the latter's chest, sobbing his heart out.   
  
After five to ten minutes of crying, Aichi ran out of tears. He was surprised that the older male had not woken up to the sound of his cries. He pushed back a bit so he could take a look at the brunet's face. He looked like he was in so deep in sleep that barely anything would be able to wake him up.   
  
The blue haired boy returned to his previous position, resting his head against Kai's chest. There was something about being within the human male's arms that felt… right. Like as long as he was in his arms, there was no need to cry or be scared. He felt content, at ease, like he felt within his dream.   
  
His dream; he hadn't almost forgotten the dream he had. A rather unusual dream where he was unsure if it was a lovely dream or a nightmare. All he knew was that it left him completely confused. He began to recall the dream, hoping that now that he was awake and able to process things more easily could he probably have better understanding.   
  
The dream began with Aichi sitting in the middle of darkness. He felt lost, afraid at first. He didn't know what was happening or what was going to happen. Knowing that nothing was going to happen if he just sat there, he stood up, immediately noticing something that left him rather puzzled. Rather than wearing clothes he'd usually wear back home or clothes he had been wearing on Earth, he was dressed in an elegant lavender blue ball gown with over the shoulder straps, white opera gloves and a golden sash around his waist with a big bow at the back, perfectly complimenting his wings, which were out. The gown was accompanied with lavender blue heels with bows and a golden tiara on his head. He felt like he was all dolled up like a princess. As to why though he had no idea.   
  
Just as he wondered about his appearance, a familiar voice broke him out of his thoughts. "Dear gentlemen, you are given the opportunity to take my daughter's hand in marriage." Before Aichi could take the time to process what was said, the darkness dispersed, revealing a location he had not seen in a while.   
  
It was the Gold Winged Clan's palace's ballroom.   
  
The moment the room revealed itself, it grew more lively as people appeared little by little. He couldn't believe his eyes. Not only was he in the ballroom back home, but there were people from the Gold Winged Clan; many he recognized, including Misaki, Kamui, Naoki, and Shingo. And not just people from the Gold Winged Clan, but a variety of different coloured winged people from the other clans. They were dancing and chatting, as if they were at a real ball.   
  
But why this sight? Why were there people from all the different clans here? And why was he in a dress in this setting? He was a boy; a prince. There was no reason for him to be dressed like a princess.   
  
His eyes caught sight of another couple of familiar faces at the landing where the thrones were placed. Both his mother and Emi were sitting in their respective thrones, watching over the party as everyone else was enjoying themselves. His mother then stood up, moving to the middle of the landing where she gained the attention of everyone in the room.   
  
"I am glad that all of you are here," she began, "To any and all of the young and handsome gentlemen here, I am eager to see which of you my daughter Lucia chooses as her husband."   
  
Hearing her say that gave Aichi a sense of understanding of what was going on. This whole thing is the story Tsukiko wrote with people he knew back in the Cloudlands as the characters that appear. It was obvious he himself was Lucia in this dream while his mother was the king, or queen in this case. Everyone else appeared to be the ensemble. But if they were all playing roles in the story, then where was…?   
  
"Why hello there, dear princess."   
  
The sudden intrusion of another familiar yet unwanted voice left a chill in the blue haired boy's spine. He looked over at the source of the voice, greeted with the sight of long crimson hair and black wings. Why of all people did he have to be in his dream?   
  
There stood Ren with his usual smug grin. He pulled Aichi close to him; his actions indicating that he's trying to seduce him. Without a doubt, the black winged king was Maximilian in this dream, which was a good thing because Aichi was able to pull away with ease. It wasn't an easy feat though, for Ren was determined, and seemed like he wouldn't stop unless someone interfered.   
  
And someone did.   
  
Everyone stopped what they were doing as a newcomer appeared within their midst. Aichi himself could not stop staring at this stranger, for he did not know who it could be. Their entire body was covered in silhouette with the exception of their clothes. He couldn't even tell the colour of their wings. All he could tell just by looking at their figure that it was a man.   
  
Before long, their gazes were locked towards each other. The blue haired boy felt himself being drawn by this silhouetted stranger, for there was something about him that was rather alluring and evocative, which was unusual given he could not even see his face. Aichi's body began to move on its own, gravitating towards him.   
  
This had to be the Draco of his dream.   
  
But why was it someone he could not see the face of? He recognized everyone else in his dream but not this person. However, he yearned to know, for he was an enigma that he felt very drawn to.   
  
It was not long before Aichi finally reached the silhouetted man, who he had decided to call 'Draco'; barely a distance between them. 'Draco' bowed before the blue haired boy, holding his hand out. Before he realized it, Aichi found himself accepting the hand of this mysterious stranger and was being lead to the dance floor. At that moment, music began to play, and the two were locked in an intimate dance.   
  
It was strange to dance a waltz without being able to see the eyes of your partner. Then again, it's strange to not be able to see your partner's face at all let alone the eyes. It made him take note of other things, such as the feel of the silhouette's hands. Much to his surprise, he can actually feel something holding his hand; so rough in texture and icy cold to the touch. Despite that, it didn't feel uncomfortable, but rather it felt pleasant. He couldn't question the oddity of it, for it just felt right, even if he didn't know why.   
  
The dance reached its end as 'Draco' turned Aichi around and embraced him from behind. Aichi felt himself consumed in desire and pleasure as he felt the silhouetted man's warm breath against his nape; the places it touched burning as if claimed by a tender fire. He then felt something metallic go around his neck as he could no longer feel the arms of the silhouetted man. Aichi looked down at the item placed around his neck and his eyes widened upon realization.   
  
Around his neck was the pendant with the dragon and the ruby.   
  
He turned around, watching as 'Draco' was walking away, his wings changing so they were now a beautiful hue of red. He ran after him, hoping to catch up to him. He needed to know who he was, for he knew within his heart that this was the person that gave him the pendant not only in this dream world, but in real life as well. As he ran, the ballroom and the people inside disappeared, returning to the neverending darkness, and with the exception of the pendant, everything Aichi was wearing was replaced with his Earth clothes. Despite that, he continued running, hoping to catch up with the stranger. But no matter how much he ran, he could never catch up to him, until eventually, 'Draco' too was consumed in darkness and Aichi was left alone in the realm of vast nothingness.   
  
Aichi broke out of his thoughts as soon as he felt Kai wriggling, repositioning his arm so it no longer wrapped itself around the smaller male's body and instead rested between them. The blue haired boy looked up at the brunet's face, surprised to see that he was still asleep. He smiled, finding the older male to be adorable in his sleep. Cerulean eyes caught sight of the hand that had moved between them. It gave Aichi an idea, though he was rather nervous to act out on it. Adjusting himself so he was in a better position, he slowly moved his own arm towards the human male's; his hand capturing the bigger hand in front of him.   
  
The blue haired male frowned. He thought that since resting in Kai's arms gave him the same feeling as he did 'Draco' in the dream, he thought that maybe their hands would also be similar. It proved, however, that that was not the case. Kai's hand was rather cold, but not as cold as the silhouetted man's was, nor did it feel rough. He chuckled to himself. Did he honestly think that Kai was the same person as 'Draco' in the dream? It was clearly impossible. 'Draco' was clearly someone from the Red Winged Clan, while Kai was a human. Just because the two both play Draco in the story that Tsukiko wrote and the fact that he felt the same way around the both of them didn't mean they were the same person. Even so, a part of him felt disappointed.   
  
He felt Kai start to squirm some more, warning the blue haired boy that he was about to wake up. He immediately pulled his hand away, not wanting to be questioned as to why he was holding his hand while he was asleep. After a little more squirming, teal hues opened and stared at cerulean. Aichi smiled. "You're awake."   
  
It was clear that the brunet was still trying to wake up, for it took him a while to answer with a groggy voice. "Yeah." Kai sat up, trying to wipe the remaining sleep out of his eyes. Aichi also sat up, trying to make himself more comfortable as he watched the human male. After a short amount of time, Kai was finally fully awake.   
  
"How long have you been up?" he asked.   
  
Aichi pondered. He never checked the time as he was too focused in his own thoughts. The best he could give is an estimate. "Probably a while ago."   
  
"... A while?" Kai was in shock. He rapidly got off the bed and searched for his cell phone, checking the time. When he found it and opened it, the time it said left him speechless.   
  
17:32   
  
They went to the theatre in the morning and came back just a little over noon. Did that mean they were asleep for five hours? He was sleeping for five hours?! And not a single nightmare during that time? What was different? He had tried so many things to cure him of his insomnia; napping during the day, sleeping in different locations, changing the time he goes to bed. None of them had worked. So what made him be able to sleep so well now? It was all so puzzling.   
  
Kai snapped out of his thoughts when he remembered that Aichi was right there. Retaining his composure, the brunet stood up. "I should probably make dinner." He rushed over to the kitchen, put on his apron, and began cooking. The entire time, he could feel cerulean eyes staring at him. He was able to cook just fine despite that, but the fact that he was being stared at as he cooked made him feel rather uneasy. He asked the blue haired boy if he needed anything, but Aichi would just dismiss it and avert his gaze, only turning back when Kai wasn't looking. It continued on until the evening, where the two then put everything that happened behind them and drift to sleep.   
  
XxXxX   
  
Nothingness.   
  
Why was it always nothingness? He feared for the events that were to come, for whenever they start like this, he knew it would lead to his heart being in so much turmoil. What events were to unfold tonight? Would he be able to understand them or would he be left with so much questions? He already knew the answer, for it was the same every night.   
  
Out of nowhere, a leaf fell before him. He wasn't sure where it came from and how it came to be here, but he knew it was a sign for everything to begin. As soon as the leaf touched invisible ground, an earthquake broke out. He was forced to lie on the ground and cover his head.   
  
After it all stopped, he looked back up to see he was no longer in the vast area of nothingness. He was in a forest with trees almost as tall as the clouds and the fresh scent of pine wafted the air. The entire area felt peaceful yet eerily quiet. He would've assumed a setting like this would have wild animals roaming about.   
  
His thoughts were broken however to the sound of sobs coming nearby. It was possible it would lead him to a trap, but he found himself unable to stop himself from walking towards the location of the voice, whether he wanted to or not. He continued to walk until he reached the designated location and found the source of the sound.   
  
In front of him was a child curled up in a ball, crying. They noticed him the moment he took another step. He couldn't see the child's face, for it was blurred for some reason, but he could tell by the way they shook and the way they were trying to keep a distance from him that they were scared of him. He walked towards the child and held out his hand, assuring them that him would not harm them. They were hesitant, but eventually the child took his hand, standing up.   
  
Before he could process what was going on, the entire forest was suddenly in flames. He cursed to himself. Another pattern to the dreams was that every time something seemed peaceful, everything would be consumed in crimson flames. He knew he had to get away and escape this hell before the pain comes back.   
  
But before he could do so, he heard a scream from the child. He looked over and gasped. The child was trapped within something he thought he'd never see again in his nightmares; the dark mist. It was suffocating the child, who grew weaker by the minute. He couldn't believe it. It was happening again. He was going to watch a child be killed by the enigmatic mist. No, he was going to watch the same child be killed by the mist. He refused to accept that. He was not going to let his dreams control him any more. He was going to put an end to everything. He let out all his anger and charged at the mist.   
  
The next thing he knew, the mist was gone and the child was unconscious in his arms. What had happened? Did he do something? Why wasn't he aware of it? He couldn't continue asking questions though, for he saw figures coming at him; an entire army of winged people. Why were they here? What did they want? All of them stared at him with eyes of fear and disgust. All of a sudden, they took out their weapons and tried to kill them. With each aim of their weapons, he tried to dodge. Even if it was a dream, he didn't want to die. He didn't understand why they would try to attack him though. He never did anything to them. He tried to tell them to calm down and let him speak, but his words rang hollow in their ears. They continued to attack him and he kept trying to dodge them. He had to get them to listen to reason somehow. He was unable to contain his frustration.   
  
And that made things worse.   
  
As he grew frustrated, crimson flames surrounded his entire body and created a giant blast around him. The flames spread, catching onto the winged people, and began to burn them alive. He stood there petrified as he watched them burn, unable to stop the tears that flowed out. He didn't mean to do it. He didn't even know how he did it. The winged beings stared daggers at him with vengeful eyes as they continued to burn; their skin badly damaged and their wings barely without any feathers.   
  
But the most frightening thing of it all was the fact that they weren't dying. Despite being burned alive, they were still moving and they were still trying to attack him.   
  
"Stay away!" he cried out, but the winged beings wouldn't listen. On and on, he cried for them to stop but they paid him no heed.   
  
"I SAID STAY AWAY!" Another blast of crimson flames exploded out of him. It did stop the winged beings, but not for the reason he wanted them to. The heat in his body began to rise to unimaginative levels to the point where he felt so much pain. He looked down at his arm and grew terrified of the sight in front of him.   
  
Now his body was consumed in flames the same of the winged people, but it was much different. Rather than his body burning alive, it was as if the flames were shedding his skin, revealing skin the colour of blood. Screaming in terror, he tried to stop his skin from shedding anymore, but rather than preventing it, he only enhanced it even further. His screams continued ringing out until they died and were replaced with monstrous roars.   
  
XxXxX   
  
Kai screamed himself awake and immediately sat up, examining himself as he did so. To his relief, his skin was still in tact. He pulled his legs close to his chest, holding them tight as he curled in a ball. They did it. His dreams had reached the point where he never wanted to sleep again. Never had he felt so scared his entire life, to the point where he couldn't keep his calm and be his usual self.   
  
"...Kai?"   
  
The brunet looked over on his right. Aichi was sitting up on the futon and staring at him with concerned cerulean eyes. Kai silently cursed. That scream he made would wake anyone up, regardless if they were a heavy sleeper or not.   
  
"Everything is fine," he said, though his voice didn't sound convincing. He was still shaken up by that nightmare.   
  
And of course, the look in Aichi's eyes told him he didn't believe him. He repositioned himself so he leaned against the bed and propped his arms on the mattress; keeping eye contact with the human male.   
  
"Kai?" he began to speak, "Please be honest with me. You have been having nightmares this entire time, have you?"   
  
The brunet averted his gaze. "I don't know what you are talking about."   
  
Cerulean eyes narrowed. "You have, haven't you? All this time, you've been going without sleep! That first morning, you avoided my question when I asked if you slept well. The night after that, I was unable to go to sleep since I was nervous on meeting Miss Tsukiko and I heard you cry out. Even when I was deep in working for the play, I heard you wake up. You've been having nightmares the entire time I've been here!" Aichi then shook his head. "No, that's not it. You've been unable to sleep even before I came here. It would explain why you were the first one to find me when I first came to Earth. It had to have been late at night when I came here. The chances of you finding me in the morning when people are completely awake are completely low."   
  
The human male looked back at him, absolutely flabbergasted. The winged male's perceptive skills reached unbelievable levels. No, it wasn't just that. As much as he tried to hide it, the fact that he wasn't getting any sleep and the fact that he was haunted by nightmares were obvious to see upon living under the same roof as him. Even if Aichi wasn't that smart and perceptive, he would've caught on eventually.   
  
"Why didn't you say anything to me?" the blue haired male continued, "I could've helped-!"   
  
"And what could you do to help?" Kai questioned, sounding slightly irritated. "Unless your magic can instantly remove the nightmares from my head, I highly doubt you can do anything. Besides, if you knew about them, then why didn't you say anything? Rather late to confront me on this, especially if you are so sure you could 'help me'."   
  
Aichi lowered his head. "You're right," he replied in a small whisper, "I should've said something sooner. I just never knew how bad they really were until now." He raised his head; cerulean hues sparkling with confidence. "But I truly think I'd be able to help you!"   
  
Teal eyes stared in curiosity. "Really now?" he asked in skepticism, "You really have something on you that will get rid of my nightmares."   
  
"Well, I'd be lying if I said I was absolutely confident in it working," Aichi sheepishly explained, "But even so, it's good to at least have some form of plan, right?"   
  
With that said, Aichi climbed over the bed and reached for the curtains on the other side, closing them. The room was pitch black. Kai asked what the point of it was, Aichi simply said that they needed to be in complete darkness for it to work.   
  
"And why are you still on the bed with me?" Kai asked another question.   
  
Though it was hard to see, the brunet could tell that the winged male was smiling. "Because it'll ruin the magic if we aren't in the same spot."   
  
Kai didn't get the point of it all, but found himself unable to ask any more questions as he noticed Aichi lowering his head down and clasping his hands tightly together. The room was in complete silence; not a single sound could be heard, not even outside. It left the brunet rather uneasy.   
  
Suddenly, Aichi's hands began to glow. It wasn't an unusual sight as he had seen the blue haired male's hands glow before, but the sight still left Kai mesmerized. He began to take complete interest in what was happening. Aichi smiled at him, which looked beautiful with the way the light from his hands shown. He then gestured with his eyes to look back down at his hands. Slowly, he opened them enough where they were shaped like a bowl. The moment he opened them, millions upon billions of tiny lights flew up, forming a whirlwind of light. The whirlwind flew around the entire room until each individual light, which Kai noted looked almost like fireflies with the way they flew, found a spot among the walls, floor, and ceiling to rest on.   
  
What was a dark apartment room had become a beautiful starry sky.   
  
Kai was left breathless at the sight. He couldn't contain himself as he leaned on the bed, trying to get a good view of the lights around him. Most of them stayed perfectly still, but a few of them would swoop down to rest near the floor, acting like shooting stars. It was like having a planetarium within his own home. No, that wasn't true. A planetarium created an illusion of watching a starry night sky despite being indoors. What Aichi created with his magic was an illusion of one flying in a starry night sky. The human male leaned back a little more, as if doing so would cause him to magically sprout wings and fly.   
  
"So, what do you think?" Aichi's words broke Kai out of his stupor, "I know that it pales in comparison to the real thing but…"   
  
The brunet shook his head. "This is incredible," he replied, "I've never seen anything like this before."   
  
Aichi smiled once again, rather relieved. "I'm glad that you like it." He laid down on the bed, his arm hanging off the edge and giving off the illusion that he was running his hands through the bottom part of the sky like it was a river. Kai himself tried to reach out to the tiny orbs of light, but they would try to avoid his touch. He guessed they only worked for Aichi because he could control them at ease.   
  
The blue haired boy let out a sigh as he stared up at the ceiling. "This sky is a recreation of a time when my father took me out camping when I was eight years old. You see, I was rarely allowed to leave the palace walls, and I could only leave if I was being escorted by someone, so you can tell I wasn't able to get out much. One day, when the whole situation pushed me to the edge on how frustrating it was, my father came over to me and told me he wanted to take me out camping; just the two of us. It was quite possibly the most exciting moment of my entire life. He took me out just outside the kingdom and we watched the stars together. The memory of that night had been ingrained in my mind for the rest of my life.   
  
"That was the last time I ever saw him. After he took me home, he went off to war to battle monsters sent by the Void. He never came back. There were only a few knights that survived the battle. I cried the entire day after I found out and couldn't sleep at night. I was still trying to get the hang of using my powers so I wasn't as good at it as I am now, but one night, I was able to create a tiny ball of light. I was sad that my father wasn't there so I could show him. But then I remembered that night sky the day we went camping. I was able to create more orbs of light, and though I couldn't do much, I was able to create just enough to look like that sky right above me. Every night since then, as my powers grew and I was able to create enough to cover my entire room, whenever I couldn't get to sleep for whatever reason, I'd sometimes recreate that night sky and I'd be able to fall asleep no problem."   
  
Kai was speechless as he stared at the blue haired boy, who broke down into silent tears after he finished his story, with a disheartened frown. To think that such a beautiful sight came from a sad memory like that. It reminded him that he was not the one in the most pain. Aichi was a part of a world where his people were constantly in fear of being pulled into nothingness from a powerful being. He had people he loved taken away from him, and now he was trapped in a world he was trying to adjust to long enough until he could return home. And to think that he so harsh towards someone like that. He wanted to make him feel better; to show him that he wasn't alone in his pain. He laid down beside the winged male and let out a sigh of his own.   
  
"I'm sorry to hear what happened to your dad," he spoke up, "I know losing a family member isn't easy to get over. I'm sure you probably suspected this, but my parents… well, they aren't around anymore either. I don't want to go into details since it's not something I like to talk about, but…"   
  
"Kai," Aichi turned to the side so he was facing the brunet, giving him a genuine smile as stray tears fell, "It's okay. You don't need to say anything. But thank you."   
  
The older male turned to his side as well, facing the blue haired male. "I should be thanking you," he responded, "This was just what I needed."   
  
Both just continued to stare at each other in silence, the tiny lights above them flickering. They were content with the scene around them, and deep within their hearts, they wished this could last forever.   
  
Aichi broke the silence with a question. "Do you miss them?"   
  
Teal eyes widened before averting their gaze and Kai kept silent for a minute. "I kind of miss my mom."   
  
"What about your father?"   
  
It was Aichi's turn for his eyes to widen as he was caught by surprise of the brunet's darkening expression. Never before had he seen him with such a look; a look full of pain and hatred. It was something that didn't need to be conveyed in words.   
  
Before long, a yawn escaped Aichi's lips. Kai was about to suggest the younger male to return to the futon, but the latter had immediately fallen asleep. The brunet sighed. He didn't want to go with the trouble of laying Aichi down on the futon before returning to bed himself. His body had already relaxed into the mattress, feeling rather dozy himself. He didn't know if his nightmares would return again, but as the lights died down one by one, returning to that dark apartment room, Kai got one last look of Aichi's sleeping face before feeling rather serene. His eyes closed just as the final orb of light died out and not long did he too fall deep into the spell called sleep.


	16. Chapter 15: Day Off

After countless attempts of trying to get rid of his nightmares so he could return to the days of peaceful, it was now clear to Kai what the solution was the moment he woke up to the sight of blue hair in front of his face. He didn't want it to be true; he wanted to do everything he could to deny it, but after it had worked twice, he had no choice but to admit it.

Sleeping beside Aichi was his only way of regaining sleep.

But why Aichi in general? Was there something that made him special? Or did it not really matter who was beside him so long as he was sleeping with someone? Whatever the case, the fact remained that he had to have someone be his human body pillow for him to sleep with, and at the moment that role belonged to Aichi. While he was relieved to find the solution, the idea of acting it out was really awkward. It wasn't like he could just walk over to the blue haired boy and ask 'Hey, mind sleeping with me for the remainder of your stay here?' He couldn't ask that of someone whose relationship he could consider that of an acquaintance.

He got up out of bed and went over the kitchen, getting ready to prepare breakfast as well as make a lunch for Aichi, for he knew the blue haired boy would be unable to make one himself with his skill. He knew he had no time to ponder such thoughts, for unlike Aichi, who was given a couple days off to recuperate, Kai had to get himself ready to go to rehearsal. As soon as he finished preparing the food, Aichi woke up. The two ate in silence, peacefully enjoying the meal in front of them. Once they were done, Kai gave Aichi the instructions on how to reheat his lunch at lunchtime before heading out to rehearsal, leaving the blue haired boy to do whatever he wanted to feel comfortable.

Not much went on in terms of rehearsal. The only scenes that they acted out were the only scenes that had Draco but no Lucia. There were only two scenes like that in the entire musical; the scene where Draco met the witch and convinced her to turn him into a human so he could be with his beloved, and the scene where he and Maximilian competed in many different tests to be worthy of asking for Lucia's hand in marriage. As they went through the scenes, everyone seemed to be having a grand time; giant grins shining on their faces after running through a scene. That was, all of them except Kai of course. He couldn't think of how all this hard work could be fun. He couldn't deny that the part when Draco explained everything to the witch and described all the things that had him fall for Lucia made Kai feel unusual things though. As he acted out those lines, Aichi's face came to mind, and the brunet felt his heart pound against his chest like it was playing a drum.

After hours of performing, it was time to call it a day. As Kai began to walk home, he pondered what to make for dinner. He himself was in the mood for some curry, though he knew if he were to make it, he would have to buy the ingredients. However, he decided to go home first and check with Aichi before considering shopping.

He returned home only to find himself face to face with a surprising sight. Aichi stood there, arms crossed, glaring at him like a mother expressing disappointment towards her rebellious child.

"What's wrong with you?" the brunet questioned the blue haired male. Aichi said nothing; walking back to the bed and sitting down. Kai was unsure of the winged being's behaviour, but figured it would pass very soon and went to grab himself a glass of water. As soon as he did, he looked back at Aichi, who was still glaring at him.

"What is it?" he asked again, unable to hide the agitation in his voice. The blue haired boy simply grabbed the fairytale book that rested beside him, and pretended to read. That was the last straw for the human male, as he stormed over to the other boy.

"You know," he continued, "I really can't help you if you act like this. Rather hypocritical if you ask me, saying I need to open up more and then do the opposite yourself."

Aichi slammed the book closed and looked up at the brunet. "You wanna know what my problem is?!" he snapped, "I thought humans were a lot better than…" He groaned in anger.

Though it didn't show, Kai was pleased he got something out. He needed to press him more. He was very tired of this attitude. "A lot better than what?"

"You know very well!"

"Actually, I don't."

Aichi gave him another angry glare before getting off the bed and grabbing something near the TV. He handed it to Kai. "This! I found it while I was looking for something to do."

Kai examined the object handed to him. It only took one glance to see what it is and realize why the winged male wouldn't have liked it. It was a DVD with the title 'Cop Babes Having Fun'. He silently groaned. He knew it was a bad idea to let Miwa hide his porn collection here to keep it away from Tsukiko.

Aichi continued. "Is this really a thing humans enjoy? Watching people…" He turned bright red at the thought. It's immoral! Indecent! It's something that should be kept by the two people doing the act!"

The brunet rubbed the temple of his forehead and sighed. "I can't believe I'm going to have to explain this to you…" He took a deep breath. He began to explain the existence of the videos. Although listening, Aichi still didn't hesitate to voice his rage and disgust towards it. It was an awkward discussion, particularly on Kai's side, for he was the one who had to explain everything. It eventually got to the point where Kai realized it would be hard to argue.

"I can't accept the reason of these videos," Aichi continued, "This kind of act should be done either as a means of reproduction or as an act of love."

Kai scratched his head. "So none have ever had sex for pleasure before?"

"I've never heard of one committing that act at least."

"You yourself never have?"

Aichi's face turned bright red at the question. "Th-that's too personal. I can't answer that."

A smirk rose on Kai's face. Something was fluttering inside his chest. He had this urge to continue to tease the blue haired boy. He was not sure why. "So you have?"

"N-no! I-I haven't! Why would I do such a thing?! I'm saving myself for someone I love!"

"Someone you love?" Kai repeated in a question, "Is there someone you like?"

Aichi went silent; his cheeks getting redder. As soon as Kai asked the question, the blue haired male recalled what happened the day before and the feelings he felt as he rested in Kai's arms and he could feel his heart beat faster. The reason why was a complete mystery. Was he developing feelings for Kai? Or maybe he only felt that way because of his dream; the dream of the person who may had given him the pendant. Was he simply trying to fill the void in his heart using Kai because of the similar feelings he felt with the person in his dream? He was unsure.

The brunet stared at Aichi as he grew silent. Did he have someone he liked? A tight pain filled his chest. Why? He decided to ignore it and continued. "Well, knowing you, I'm sure whoever you love would make a wonderful queen for a future king like you."

Aichi snapped out of his thoughts. "What do you mean?"

Kai got up and started pacing around. "Well as future king, you need to have a queen so you could produce an heir, right? Isn't that how it works with royalty."

The blue haired male tilted his head. "What are you talking about? My significant other doesn't have to be female."

Now Kai was starting to get confused. "Of course it has too. Isn't it important as king to have an heir for when you die."

"It is."

"So you would have to be married to a woman, right?"

"No. I can marry a man."

"But you wouldn't get an heir from a male partner."

"Yes I can."

Both were staring at each other in confusion. It was like the two were speaking different languages, like the time they first spoke to each other the day they met. Kai sighed; scratching his head as he continued. "You are male, right?"

Aichi tilted his head. "Of course I am. Is there something wrong with that?"

"And you know how reproduction works, right?"

"Of course! I've studied quite a lot."

"Then you should know that reproduction only works with a man and a woman, right?"

"No. Two men can also reproduce."

Kai was starting to get frustrated. He could tell Aichi was not getting it. "No. They can't. It only works with a man and woman. Two men can't reproduce together. Two women can't reproduce together. Only a man and woman together can reproduce."

Aichi chuckled. "Well, of course two women can't reproduce together. It doesn't work that way. But you are mistaken; two men can reproduce together."

What was going on? Kai couldn't understand why Aichi couldn't understand that men can't reproduce. He sighed again. "No, they can't. Men don't have that anatomy."

The winged male was about to retort when his eyes shined with realization. "I see what's going on now."

The brunet was relieved. "So you finally understand."

Aichi nodded. "Of course. So human males can't reproduce together. That is interesting." Kai was dumbfounded. What did he mean by 'human males can't reproduce together'? Did that mean…? He asked to make sure.

As soon as he asked his question, Aichi smiled at Kai. "Yep. Winged males can also give birth."

Silence filled the air. Kai couldn't believe what he just heard. Never had he heard something so bizarre. "How…?"

Aichi adjusted himself and began to speak. "You see, there was a time when a lot of the children born were males, and eventually there wasn't a lot of winged females around. So in order to prevent our race from dying, one of the kings from the past, I believe it was the ruler of the Silver Winged Clan at the time, cast a powerful spell that-!"

"I don't need the history lesson!" Kai interrupted. He rubbed his head. "So… winged males can give birth."

"Yes," Aichi replied.

"So that means… you can give birth."

"That's right."

"So if you mated with another male, you would give birth."

"Uh-huh."

Kai had not noticed he had been moving closer to Aichi until he had already gotten close to grab the blue haired male's arms. The distance between them had lessened as they stared deep into each other's eyes. "So if we have sex, you could give birth to my child?!"

Both males turned red at Kai's words. The human male let go of Aichi and turned around, hiding the embarrassment. "Th-that was hypothetical! Just a hypothetical question!"

Aichi, still blushing from the question, brought his hands to his chest as he answered honestly. "Yes. I could give birth to your child." As he responded, Aichi felt his chest fluttering in happiness. He couldn't contain the smile that was growing on his face. The thought of giving birth to Kai's child brought joy to him. Would he really feel this way if he didn't love him?

Kai turned around, wanting to change the subject. "So," he spoke up as he cleared his throat, "The winged people don't have a prejudice against same sex relationships? So anyone can fall in love with whoever they want then."

The blue haired male frowned at the comment; the happiness from earlier fading away at realization. "That's not true," he replied, "It is fine for a man to fall in love with another man and a woman to fall in love with another woman… but no one, regardless of gender, must fall in love with someone of a different clan than them."

The human male stared at Aichi, curious on what he meant. He asked what he meant. Aichi continued.

"Long ago, a man from the Black Winged Clan and a woman from the Silver Winged Clan fell in love. It was harmless at first, but then the two gave birth to a child. However, the child was born different from other children born from parents of the same coloured wings. This child was born with one black wing and one silver wing. He was called 'the Dual Winged Child'.

"The child had a hard time fitting in with his dual coloured wings and was always alone. His parents tried to comfort him every time, but that eventually felt hollow to the child. But the worst happened after he started to awaken the magic inside of him. You see, each clan is born with magical powers based on their wings; the Aqua Winged Clan with water magic, the Green Winged Clan with earth magic, the Gold Winged Clan with light magic, the Silver Winged Clan with wind magic, the Black Winged Clan with dark magic, and I believe it's said the Red Winged Clan had fire magic. But for someone who was born with parents from two different clans, his powers were… different. His powers created a dark tornado that nearly destroyed a town in the kingdom of the Black Winged Clan. His parents tried to stop him, but with all the sorrow that had built up all the years he was alive, he became a servant of the Void. The clans had no choice but to seal him away somewhere.

"It didn't stop there. There were many more times where two people from two different clans fell in love and gave birth to children with dual coloured wings. The clans tried to not repeat the same thing that happened with the Dual Winged Child, but every time, the children would become corrupt and destroy everything. Eventually, a law was passed down to all the clans; that marriage between people of two different clans was forbidden. Should another child arise, the parents would be banished along with the child."

"That's a little extreme," Kai replied once the story was done.

Aichi shook his head. "Every time a child was born, the Void was able to corrupt their hearts. The clans were afraid to risk giving birth to dual winged children if it meant the Void had easy access to destroying the clans. I don't like the fact that we can't all live together in peace; that lives have to be destroyed because of the Void, but we have no choice. If anything, that's more of a reason to stop the Void. So everyone can live together in peace with no prejudice against each other."

Silence filled the room once again. Kai had always thought that the prejudice humans had against each other was bad. He had never heard of anyone being banished just for being who they were. And yet… why did it not feel surprising? Aichi was the only winged being he met and he was a very kind and accepting person. Something like prejudice in the Cloudlands should've been surprising. He raised his arms above his head and started stretching.

"I'm thinking of making curry tonight for dinner but I need to pick up the ingredients," Kai explained as he walked towards the door, putting his shoes back on, "Wanna come with?"

The blue haired boy nodded as he walked over to get his own shoes on. "I want to get some fresh air anyways."

Once both were ready, they left the apartment and began walking to the grocery store. The streets were rustling like usual but neither male minded it, especially Aichi who found it rather refreshing. They walked suite a bit until Kai stopped in his tracks; something catching his eye. Aichi, confused as to why he stopped, looked over at the direction the brunet was looking at. A stray white cat with black and brown spots was sitting on a bench, cleaning itself. It didn't take long for the blue haired male to piece together what was going on and he smiled at the other male. "You like cats?"

Kai, realizing what he was doing, averted his gaze. "They're alright," he responded, "I mean they're just… well, they're… kinda… cute…"

Aichi chuckled. He would've never guessed the human male was a cat person. "Do you want to pet it?"

The brunet perked up at the suggestion. "I would love to-!" His face turned gloomy. "I can't though."

"Why not?"

"I like cats… but they don't like me back."

Aichi's eyes widened at the comment. "I'm sure they do. Cats are friendly to those with good hearts and you're one of the kindest people I've ever met. I'm sure that cat will let you pet it." He started pushing Kai towards the cat. "Go on! You can do it!"

The human male couldn't believe he was being pushed to petting a cat. He loved the idea of petting a cat, but he knew throughout his entire life, every cat he came across wouldn't even let him get close to it let alone pet it. But if it made Aichi happy (although the human male admitted it was for himself as well), he would go and pet the cat. He took small steps, trying to be careful when approaching it. Once he was just a foot away, the cat perked up and noticed Kai. The cat stood up and hissed angrily at the human male, raising its paw and pulled its claws out ready. Kai walked away in defeat; a gloomy aura surrounding him. He should've known things wouldn't be different.

Aichi watched the scene in surprise. Why did the cat reject Kai so easily? No only that, why did the cat raise its guard, treating Kai like a threat? Kai watched as the blue haired male walked over to the bench and sat down beside the cat. What was he planning? He then noticed Aichi's eyes glow, like they did the first day they met before the winged male spoke the same language as him. After a little time, his eyes stopped glowing and he spoke up. The brunet raised an eyebrow at the sight.

Was Aichi talking to the cat?

He could barely hear Aichi's side of the conversation, and obviously he couldn't understand the cat, so he had no idea what was going on. The fact that Aichi was even making conversation with the cat was baffling in itself. After a little time had passed, they finished their discussion and Aichi looked at Kai, smiling at him. He gestured for the brunet to come over. Kai wasn't sure what was going on, but went over anyways, nervous about the cat. As soon as he was at the bench, he was surprised that the cat was not hissing at him.

"You can sit," Aichi told him, gesturing to the empty space beside the cat. Kai hesitated but eventually he did as he was told and sat down. He looked over at the cat again, baffled that there was no response. What did Aichi do or say?

The blue haired male continued to smile. "You can pet it if you want."

Kai's gaze switched to Aichi; eyes wide open. The two stared at each other, conveying words with their eyes. The human male looked back down at the cat, now staring at him with its green eyes. Kai was hesitant, not sure if the small creature would attack him if he attempted to pet it, but knew it was a once in a lifetime chance. Taking a deep breath, he slowly brought his hand over the cat, lowering it carefully until he could feel the soft fur. He was finally doing it. He was petting a cat. As he continued to pet it, the cat started to relax in the human's touch. It started to nuzzle its head in his hand; purring. Kai couldn't describe the joy he was feeling right now; not shown in his expression, but in his eyes. Something he wanted to do his entire life and he was finally doing it.

Aichi was also happy with the sight. He was glad he could do something for the brunet. But why stop there? He knew how to make it better. He leaned in and started whispering in the cat's ear. After he finished, the cat gave a knowing look and out a loud meow. Kai appeared confused.

"What did you do?" he asked the blue haired male.

"You'll see," Aichi replied; a giant smirk on his face as he stood up and walked away. Out of nowhere, cats appeared from all angles. There had to be at least ten of them. Kai watched in worry as they got closer to the bench. He had no idea what was going on. Suddenly, they all pounced on Kai. To attack? No, they began to snuggle with him. Kai couldn't believe it. He thought it was already a dream come true just to pet one cat, but now there was a group of cats snuggling against him. Lots of guys like to be popular with girls, but the brunet himself felt that being popular with cats was a better feeling. This was one dream he would never want to wake up from.

Aichi watched from a bit of distance, smiling as Kai snuggled with all the cats. He was happy he was able to make the human male happy after everything that's going on. To the blue haired male, this was enough of an apology for always causing him trouble. He had to admit though; this was also a treat for Aichi himself, for he had never seen this side of Kai. Would the other male get mad at him if he told him he thought this side of him was a little cute? Aichi blushed at the thought of thinking Kai was cute. What was this feeling?

"I did as you asked."

The winged male looked down to see the first cat standing beside him. The cat continued. "I hope that your opinion of him is true."

"It is true," Aichi replied, "He is a very kind person. I wouldn't be here now if he wasn't."

The cat stared at Kai, examining him. "I still stand with what I said earlier; there is a monstrous side to him, a side that could destroy the entire city if it is unleashed."

Aichi shook his head. "Kai is not a monster."

"Your eyes glow when the hidden power inside you is released," the cat pressed on, "It helps you communicate with me, but is it blind to see the beast within?"

The blue haired male remained silent. He refused to believe Kai of all people could do that. Sure, he was antisocial and cold, but he wasn't a bad person. It may have only been a week and a half, but Aichi believed he already knew what kind of person he was, and he wasn't a monster.

The cat walked forward a little bit. "Well, I did this because you seem like a sweet kid. And neither I nor my friends are hurt by this man… so I can see what it is you see in him. I'm just warning you to be careful. Who knows when the beast inside him will awaken, and it can be quite dangerous. Heed my warning."

Finished with what it needed to say, the cat called the other cats back and they all left. Kai was disappointed to see them go, but knew it was good while it lasted. He got up from the bench and walked towards Aichi, who was in deep thought. Snapping the younger male out of his thoughts, the two continued on their way to the grocery store.

At least, they were until they were stopped by a familiar face. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Prince Aichi and his human bodyguard."

It was Kyou and his men. It was the worst possible timing for them to be here. Kai knew he had to get Aichi out of there and fast. He grabbed Aichi's hand and they began to run off.

"Don't just stand there!" Kyou shouted, "After them!"

A chase began. Kai lead Aichi down the bustling streets, hoping that the amount of people could block the way for the Black Winged men and they could lose them. However, it wasn't as simple as that. Kyou and his men were able to slip past the people just as well as Kai and Aichi could. The brunet cursed under his breath. He needed to outsmart them somehow. It then occurred to him what street they were in. He had an idea. He lead the blue haired prince down an alleyway and they climbed over a metal fence. He knew it would slow them down but not for long. That was when the second part of Kai's escape plan came in. While Kyou and his men were busy climbing the fence, the two boys turned the corner and ran into a shop nearby.

As soon as they made it past the fence, Kyou and his men saw that the prince and the human were gone. Kyou growled. "You both check down the streets. I'll be staying here to check if they pulled some sort of trick."

Agreeing, the three split with Kyou staying behind, checking the area. Kai and Aichi hid behind a shelf, observing the situation.

"Well, that's just great," Kai growled, "We won't be able to leave with him standing there. He's sure to catch us if we try to leave. He's smarter than I thought."

Aichi gave a dejected sigh. Was this really it for them? Were they truly done for. His vision turned to the store itself and the merchandise within. There were a lot of things had never seen before but he recognized some from TV.

"Welcome!" a voice called out to them, causing them both to turn around. It was a rugged old man behind the counter, no doubt the one who runs the store. He gave them a welcoming smile, like any business person would do. It gave Kai another idea. He walked over to the counter.

"Good afternoon, sir," Kai greeted him, "You don't happen to sell bikes, do you?"

The old man frowned. "You're out of luck. Sold our last bike today. We have skateboards though."

The brunet groaned. "Well, that's just great."

Aichi looked at them both in confusion. "Skateboards?"

The old man pulled out a skateboard from behind a counter. "It's a nice one, isn't it? I can sell it to you."

Kai shook his head. "It's not fast enough and it can't hold the both of us. I can't afford to buy two after what happened with Miss Tsukiko."

"It can't hold the both of us?"

"Our weight would just cause the board to slow down."

The blue haired male was deep in thought. He noticed a door at the side of the store. "What's that door lead to?"

"That leads to the garage," the old man replied, "It's where I keep things to repair."

"Does it lead to outside?"

"But of course! All garages do."

Aichi then looked out the window. He noticed one of the roads outside was a slope. The calculations were forming in his head until he had the answer. He rushed back to the counter. "We'll take a skateboard. One is fine. We'll exit through the garage if you don't mind."

Kai couldn't believe what he was hearing. Neither could the old man. "Exit through the garage? Are you sure?"

The brunet grabbed Aichi by the arm. "Aichi, are you crazy?"

Aichi simply smiled at him. "Don't worry Kai. I have an idea."

Back to outside, Kyou's men came back from their search. "So…?"

They shook their heads. "Sorry, Boss. We couldn't find them anywhere."

"Then they have to be around here somewhere," Kyou concluded, "They must be hiding. But where?" Just as he began to ponder, the garage door beside the shop opened. He and his men were not sure what was going on. They heard familiar voices inside.

"You ready, Kai?"

"You are insane if you think this will work."

"It will. Trust me."

Before the three men could see what was going on, Kai and Aichi passed them. They were riding a skateboard with Kai in front. As Kai had suspected, the board was slow with the two of them on it. Kyou and his men started running towards them.

"They're catching up!" Kai cried out.

"Just hurry to the slope!" Aichi replied.

Kyou and his men were getting close to the two boys. Just as they were about to grab them however, they got to the slope. The skateboard's momentum increased and they gained speed, moving five times as fast as they were before.

"After them!" Kyou shouted, rushing to the garage and grabbing a bike. His accomplices followed suit and with all three on bikes, they went after the two boys.

The chase resumed. The skateboard was fast but the bikes were faster. It seemed like they would finally catch them. But then they saw a corner. Kai turned the skateboard so that way it would make the turn. Kyou and his gang tried to turn, however they were unaware that they grabbed the bikes that still needed repair and ended up crashing as a result.

Aichi looked behind him to see the crash. "We lost them!" he cheered.

"Yeah," said Kai, "But now we have another problem!"

The blue haired boy looked back to see that they were heading straight into a truck. They began to panic. They were getting closer and closer to crashing. Aichi realized he had no choice but to do the one thing that can save him. "Hold on to the skateboard!" Kai was unsure of why he said that, but crouched down and did so anyway. Aichi wrapped his arms around Kai's waist. Just as they were about to crash, they began to float over the truck. Kai didn't have to look to know what was going on.

Aichi had let out his wings and carried Kai over the truck.

As soon as they hit the ground again, the winged male hid his wings again. They continued to skate until they reached another alleyway. Kai and Aichi leaned against the wall, trying to catch their breaths from the the excitement.

"You… are truly mad…" Kai spoke up the moment he had the breath to speak, "To think… you would come up… with this crazy idea… of the two of us on a single skateboard… skating down a slope. We almost got killed there."

Aichi remained silent, letting the words sink in. A sound came out of his mouth. The blue haired boy tried to cover his mouth, but the sound was too much to hold. He burst into laughter, unable to contain himself. Kai stared at him.

"What's so funny?" He asked, baffled how the younger of the two could laugh like that.

The blue haired boy looked at him. "I… I can't believe we did that… hehehe… I've… I've never done anything so crazy my entire life! Hahahaha! AND IT WAS AMAZING! HAHAHAHAHA!"

The brunet just continued to stare at him. Was it really that funny? How could two people on one skateboard skating down a slope escaping some guys and almost escaping death from a truck be funny? The situation finally sank in for him. It was a ridiculous concept in hindsight. Kai felt the bones on his face tugging in a way that felt foreign to him and a small sound came out of his lips. Like with Aichi, it started off small but then grew and grew until he contain it anymore.

Before he knew it, he too was bursting with laughter. The two of them laughed and laughed and laughed until it died down into giggles. Aichi looked at Kai with a smile. The brunet noticed immediately.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's the first time I've ever seen you smile let alone laugh." Aichi replied.

Kai began to think back on the past. No wonder this feeling felt foreign to him. He had never smiled in his entire life. No, that was wrong; he had smiled before, but when? As he began to think about his past, he felt pain in his stomach from all the laughter. He placed his hand on the place where it hurt. The pain was growing at an excruciating rate and he was finding it hard to breathe. All that just because he laughed so hard? But then he realized it.

It wasn't his stomach that was hurting.

The next thing he knew, he was down on his knees, clutching his chest as he began to choke. Aichi ran to him in panic. "Kai? What's wrong?"

Kai couldn't say anything. He couldn't breathe properly and he was slowly losing consciousness. Aichi kept calling his name but to no avail. He looked into Kai's eyes.

"Kai! Please talk to me!"

Aichi's eyes widened as teal eyes turned into gold and his pupils became slits. They didn't look like human eyes. Before it could be questioned, the brunet's eyes close and he fell to the ground, unconscious. No matter how much Aichi cried out his name, Kai wouldn't wake up.

Suddenly, Kai's phone began to ring. In desperation, Aichi answered it. It was Miwa on the other side. "Hey Kai! Mom wanted me to call to see how you're doing."

"Miwa! This is Aichi!" the blue haired male cried, "Kai and I went out… and then… and then he lost consciousness! I don't know what happened! I don't know what to do…" Tears began to fall. "Please help…"

"Where are you?"

Aichi began to describe the location they were at. Luckily, Miwa was able to recognize it just by the description. He told Aichi to wait there and that he was on his way, hanging up the phone and leaving Aichi alone in his thoughts. What had happened to Kai? Was he going to be okay?

Was it Aichi's fault that this happened? He cradled the brunet's head in his arms, holding him close to him. He prayed that Kai would be all right.

Eventually, Miwa showed up. He picked Kai and began to carry Kai piggy back style; telling Aichi to follow him. The blue haired male followed with no hesitation and the two left the alleyway, heading to the place they needed to go to save Kai.


	17. Chapter 16: Summer Night

Aichi and Miwa ran down the street carrying the unconscious Kai until they made it to Miwa's house. Aichi questioned if anything there could help Kai, but was panicking too much to think too much on it. He only hoped that the brunet was going to be alright.

"Mom! It's an emergency!" Miwa cried out as they burst through the door.

Tsukiko ran out to greet them. She noticed Kai on Miwa's back and immediately knew what was going on. "Bring Toshiki down to the basement. After that, stay with Aichi and make sure he's okay."

Miwa did as instructed. He brought Kai down to the basement and laid him on the table that Tsukiko had cleared off. After that he left, leaving the blonde woman to do what she needs to. She first forced one of his eyelids open, looking deep at the golden eye.

"It's just as I feared." She muttered to herself. She rushed over to the shelves behind her that were full of different supplies and pushed everything to the side until she found a single bottle with a crimson liquid in the back of the shelf. She grabbed the bottle and walked back to Kai's unconscious body. She tried to force his mouth open, briefly noting the slight change in his teeth as they were barely starting to look like fangs, and with the bottle open she poured some of the content in. It took effect immediately as his teeth started looking like perfect human teeth again. To be absolutely sure it worked, Tsukiko opened his eye again, revealing the usual teal. The older woman sighed in relief.

As that was going on, Miwa had made some green tea and offered some to Aichi. The blue haired boy only took a sip to be polite, but was too concerned about Kai's condition to drink more. What was happening to him? Would this kill him? The passing minutes only made him more anxious.

After some time had passed, Tsukiko came back up. Aichi immediately rushed over to her. "Miss Tsukiko! Is he okay?!"

The blonde woman nodded. "He's fine," she replied as she walked over to the table and accepted the cup of green tea Miwa had offered her, "He's just resting right now."

Aichi sighed in relief. As soon as he got back to his chair, he collapsed into it as his legs gave way. He didn't know what he would've done if Kai had died.

Once she finished taking a sip of her tea, she continued on. "Aichi, this is important. I want you to tell me everything that happened that led to this incident.

The younger male was not sure how to respond. There was no way he could tell her that a group of winged men were trying to capture him and bring him to their king as soon as the portal at the lake was open within a month's time and that Kai was trying to protect him. They would find him crazy. He decided to alter the truth slightly, saying that they accidentally angered a gang of thugs and were chased by them and the crazy things they did to get away. Tsukiko remained silent as she listened to Aichi's story. Once he was finished, the older woman realized what it was.

"Aichi," she began, "There's something I need to confess to you about Toshiki, as I worry this could happen again if we're not careful."

"Confess to me?" Aichi questioned, though appeared rather concerned with the way Tsukiko spoke to him. Miwa hanged his head down. He knew what was coming.

Tsukiko took a deep breath before she continued. "I'm sure you've noticed that Toshiki has… well, compared to the three of us he is rather pale. The truth is that due to… a certain condition of his, he can't go out and do too much intense exercise."

The blue haired male didn't understand what she was talking about. "'Certain condition'?"

Another sigh escaped the blonde woman's lips. She took another sip of her tea before staring at Aichi, piercing him with a serious expression.

"... He has a weak heart. The condition was so severe, he almost died when he was just born. He was able to make it through of course… and as years went by, it seemed like it was no longer as severe as it was when he was a baby… but then… an incident I can't speak of happened."

Aichi remained silent. He had no idea Kai had anything that severe. If he had known, he wouldn't have dared for them to do something that risky to get away from the Black Winged Clan, even if it did save them.

"B-but don't misunderstand, Aichi!" Miwa spoke up as he noticed the younger male's expression turn dark, "We're glad you both are at least safe from those thugs! I'm sure Kai would rather go along with whatever would keep you safe, no matter how much it damaged his health. He's that kind of guy after all."

"So it really is my fault that Kai…" Aichi couldn't continue as tears ran down his face. As he cried, he felt arms wrap around him. Tsukiko had pulled him into an embrace, stroking his hair as she tried to calm him down.

"We didn't tell you this to guilt you, sweetie," she replied, "It was to let you know what was going on so this incident doesn't happen again in the future. As Taishi said, we're just glad you both are safe after that ordeal. Would it be better if we handle this situation to make sure those criminals don't come at you again?"

Aichi shook his head. As much as he would like it if Kyou and his men were dealt with, he knew that mere humans wouldn't be able to stop them, especially since they had a mission to capture him and all.

Tsukiko didn't press the issue. She pulled away so the two made eye contact. "Very well. One more thing; please try not to bring this up to Toshiki. I believe he has a complex about it."

The younger male nodded. With all said and done, the three changed the subject, moving on to something more lighthearted. The whole thing was still bothering Aichi, but he knew sulking wouldn't solve anything, and he didn't want to worry Miwa and Tsukiko any more after they had been so kind to him. So he joined in the conversation, faking a smile and playing along.

XxXxX

The first thing Kai saw the moment he woke up was a ceiling with support beams. He didn't remember how he got there. All he remembered was that he and Aichi went out, they were chased by the Black Winged Clan, Aichi came up with a crazy plan to get away but it worked, but he didn't remember anything else after that. He rubbed his head as he began to think deeper, hoping to remember more.

"Hey! Glad to see you're awake."

Kai looked over to see Miwa standing; a bright smile across his face like always. The brunet sat up.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"Mom's workroom," Miwa replied, "You've been asleep for some time. Aichi's been worried about you. Poor kid saw you collapse with his own eyes."

"Aichi?"

"Don't worry. He's upstairs with Mom, perfectly safe."

The brunet was relieved knowing that Aichi was fine. He tried to stand up but lost his balance. Luckily, Miwa was there to catch him.

"Hey, easy there!" the blond continued, lowering his friend back on the bed, "You only just woke up. Take a bit to relax. Aichi's not going anywhere."

Kai was unsure whether to listen to his friend or not. However, he finally gave in and sat back down, knowing it would be pointless to force himself up if he didn't have the strength. Miwa grabbed a chair and sat down next to him. He looked like he had something to say but was not sure how to say it. After a few minutes, he took a deep breath and let it out.

"When I called your cell, I was expecting the same old routine to happen; I act all cheery, you act all grumpy. It's the norm for us. But when Aichi picked up instead of you and said that you had collapsed, I tried to act calm as I didn't want to make Aichi feel worse as he was panicking enough just by seeing what happened to you, but on the inside I felt like I was having a heart attack. I was worried about you. Even though we aren't blood related, I still think of you as my adorable little brother."

"What do you mean 'adorable little brother'?" Kai interrupted, "We're the same age."

Miwa nodded. "Yes, but I was born first, so I'm older." He sighed back in the mood he was in before he continued. "The point is you are family to me. You and my mom are the most important people in life. If I were to lose either one of you…"

The next thing they knew, Miwa had slipped off the chair and laid his head down on the side of the bed. He was making little sounds. As Kai was listening closely, he was shocked on what he was hearing.

Miwa, the guy who would always have a smile on his face no matter the situation, was crying.

"I… I always pretend that ev-everything is okay," the blond continued as he sobbed in the bed, "B-but I can't keep d-doing it. I'm scared for you, Kai. I don't want to lose you. I don't want to lose…"

Kai couldn't believe the sight he was seeing. Never in his entire life had he ever seen Miwa cry, not even as a kid. He didn't know how to react or what to do. Unconsciously, he placed his hand on the blond's shoulder.

"Miwa… I…" the brunet managed to let out. However he stopped, knowing not what to say and if what he said would help.

But as if Kai's feelings made words of their own that were heard loud and clear, Miwa sat up, wiping the tears in his eyes and bringing back his signature smile. "Sorry about that," he began to assure the other male, "I'm fine. I just had a lot of stuff bottled up and… well, you saw the result."

"Yeah," Kai replied, "It was as if Niagara Falls was transferred to your eyes or something."

Miwa just stared at him with wide eyes. The brunet was confused. Did he say something wrong? The blond began to try holding in his laughter, but was unable to contain it for long before he fell to the floor, laughing up a storm.

"What the hell was that?!" Miwa laughed, "I wouldn't expect a comment like that coming from you! Hahaha!"

The other male tilted his head. "Is it that weird?"

"Of course! You're usually like…" Miwa tried to do his best 'Kai' face. "'Meh, whatever.'"

Kai crossed his arms. "I'm not always like that."

"Most of the time, you are. In fact, I've never seen you make a comment like that since…" Miwa stopped as his eyes widened in realization. Could it be? "...since we were kids…"

Kai fell deep in thought. He knew his friend was right. Back when he was a kid, he would joke around with Miwa every time they were in the same room. It all stopped after his parents died. He looked back at Miwa. How long had he taken this guy for granted? Miwa was always by his side; always smiling and doing everything he could for Kai's happiness. He was his friend, his best friend, his only friend. No, those were the wrong words to describe Miwa.

He was his brother.

"Miwa, I…"

But before Kai could say another word, the blond interrupted him. "I know what you're gonna say." He gave him a big smile. "Don't be sorry. After all, we are a family. And I'd do anything for my family."

The brunet lowered his gaze for a bit. He was glad to have a friend like Miwa.

"Now, don't start falling for me now," he continued, "I know I'm the most awesome guy but still."

Kai looked back up at him with a surprised gaze before a smirk grew on his face. "Please," he snorted, "I wouldn't fall for you. You're not cute."

Miwa's grin grew. "Oh, so then you really like Aichi?"

"What does me liking Aichi have to do with-!"

"Aha! So you admit it! I knew it! You prefer someone cute and Aichi's cute so therefore you like Aichi. And I got you to admit it! I'm a genius."

The next thing he knew, Miwa was pummeled by pillows. He looked over at Kai, who was acting all innocent. "What?" The brunet asked, "I don't know where those pillows came from."

But the usually stoic male couldn't convince his cheerful friend. Miwa smirked as he stood ready to charge. "You asked for it…" With blinding speed, he charged at the brunet and tackled him. The next thing he knew, Kai had the blond pinned face down on the bed.

"I give! I give!" Miwa cried out while simultaneously laughing. Kai let out a little chuckle himself. He had forgotten the fun times he had with his friend and brother and was happy to relive them, even if it was ten years late.

"What's all the commotion about?"

Managing to get out of the brunet's hold, Miwa got up and off the bed as Tsukiko came down. The blond smiled at his mom.

"Ah, nothing Mom." Miwa replied, "Kai was actually feeling better so we were just fooling around."

The concept surprised the older woman. "Fooling around? Both of you?"

Before either teen could say anything, Aichi came out from behind Tsukiko and rushed over to the bed. "Kai!" he cried out, "Are you alright!? You collapsed and I…"

Before he could say any more, Kai brought his hand up and rustled the blue haired male's hair, returning the worried gaze with a gentle, reassuring smile. "I'm fine. Thank you for your concern though."

Everyone in the room was silent from shock, especially Miwa and Tsukiko. Kai… was smiling? Eventually, Tsukiko broke the silence as she cleared her throat.

"Well," she began, "Do you think you can stand up?"

Kai attempted to stand and though he was a little wobbly still, he succeeded. Everyone was glad that he was feeling better.

"Now that you are feeling better," the blonde woman continued, "Both Taishi need to get ready for the fireworks festival."

"Fireworks festival?" Aichi asked; piquing his curiosity.

"Yep, there's one tonight." said Miwa, "Are you interested in going?"

The blue haired male nodded furiously. "Of course! I would love to-!" But he stopped in his tracks as he looked back at Kai. "I mean… probably not. I'm sure Kai would want more rest as soon as we get home."

"If you want to go, we'll go." the brunet replied.

"But Kai-!"

"Aichi, it's fine. I don't mind."

But rather than assure him, the brunet's words only worried the younger male more. However, the former was stubborn with his decision and so they began to get ready for the festival. While searching around, Tsukiko found one of Miwa's old yukatas from when he was younger and gave it to Aichi to wear as it was luckily in his size. After that, she, Aichi, and Miwa went to go change. Although offered, Kai refused to wear a yukata, saying he didn't like to wear them, so he waited for them in the waiting room.

It took a few minutes before Aichi and Miwa came out; Miwa in a black yukata with grey waves and Aichi in a white and grey checkered yukata. However, it appeared that Aichi's sash was not properly tied. Before anyone could blink, Kai rushed over and helped tie the blue haired male's sash, getting a thank you from the latter. Miwa snickered at the two, the way they came off as lovey dovey towards each other. When the brunet looked over with a glare, his friend pretended to mind his own business.

After quite a while of waiting, Tsukiko finally came out, dressed in a beautiful red yukata with a cherry blossom pattern and a royal blue sash. Her blonde hair was tied up in a bun with a red flower ornament. All three teens had to admit that despite being twice her age, she was still very beautiful. With all of them ready to go, they put on their shoes (for those in their yukata, they put on geta sandals, which Tsukiko had to find a pair that would fit Aichi) and they left for the festival.

Aichi couldn't believe his eyes when they got to the festival grounds. Wooden stands were lined up with all sorts of attractions and food and lanterns lighting the dark paths. It reminded him of the amusement park minus the rides. The sight was a marvel to look at. How much he wanted to explore every single stand and get the full experience.

But then his mind drifted back to Kai. Did the brunet truly think everything was fine even though it was not long since he collapsed? Aichi couldn't help but worry about him, for if he collapsed again, the younger male was not sure what to do. He knew what to do. They could still go out and have fun, but Aichi decided to monitor Kai to make sure he doesn't do more than necessary.

Aichi stared at the older male. He was surprised he didn't want to wear a yukata. After all, Kai was just so handsome that a yukata would flatter him. He noted what the brunet was wearing; a red and black long sleeved shirt with a grey jacket and black slacks. He also noted details on the clothes; the fact that the sleeves were snug against his arms and the collar of his shirt covered past his collar bone. He remembered Kai's dislike for short sleeved shirts. Could he also have a dislike for yukatas as well? Kai mentioned before that long sleeved shirts were just a preference, but Aichi was starting to wonder if there was something else behind it.

The four of them continued walking around, stopping at any stands that drew their eye. They played some games and ate some takoyaki and shaved ice. They were enjoying the time together; even Kai couldn't contain his smile just by seeing Aichi's smiling face. He didn't know why he felt like smiling so much whenever Aichi was concerned but he just did. The fact that he could sleep just fine with the blue haired boy beside him and the fact that he could now smile easily around him; was it possible that he really was in-?!

"We meet again!"

Kai couldn't finish that thought for he was groaning upon hearing that familiar voice. Once again, they bumped into Morikawa and Izaki, who were also dressed in yukata. Aichi, Miwa, and Tsukiko didn't share his sentiments though, for they greeted them happily.

"Hey, Aichi," Morikawa continued, "I see you're in a male yukata. With your looks, I would've suspected you would be mistaken as female if you bought one."

With no warning, Kai gave Morikawa a hard smack on the head. The latter held his head as he felt the throbbing pain. Worried that this would start another fight and worsen Kai's condition, Aichi answered Morikawa's comment.

"I honestly didn't think of that," he replied, "Actually, I'm borrowing one of Miwa's old ones since it was offered to me, so I didn't go into a store to get this."

"Ah, is that so?" asked Morikawa, appearing rather embarrassed.

"You're too soft on him, Aichi," said Izaki, "Don't hesitate to call him an idiot if you need to."

Morikawa looked at his friend in shock. "Izaki! I can't believe you would say that about me! I thought we were friends!"

"I say that because we're friends, Morikawa."

But his sulking didn't last long, for his attention was directed to Kai. "But anyways. Now that you're here, Kai, it is time for another challenge!"

"YOU CAN'T!" Aichi shouted, causing everyone in the group as well as the surrounding people to stare at him. The blue haired boy's face turned red as he realized his sudden outburst and tried to correct himself in a softer voice. "I mean, is this really a time to be competing? Wouldn't it be better spending our time having fun? I know I'm ecstatic to see the fireworks."

"Of course we're gonna have fun!" Morikawa exclaimed, "I'm gonna have fun with kicking Kai's butt!"

The brunet simply sighed. "If that will get you to shut up…"

And so, much to Aichi's dismay, Kai and Morikawa began competing. Like at the amusement park, Kai just kept winning and winning, frustrating the raven haired male. After so many games, they reached the final game at the festival; goldfish scooping. Morikawa went first, trying to scoop up some goldfish. However, due to his lack of patience and timing, he wasn't able to scoop up a single one. He kept at it until his poi, the special net used for scooping, was completely broken as per the game's rules. Kai was up next. He was given another poi and gave his own shot at the game. While he had more luck than Morikawa and was able to get more as a result (which really isn't too hard a task), he had to admit how difficult it was to catch them. With how close he had to put his hand in, he had to roll his sleeves up to prevent them from falling and getting soaked as a result. Like his faux rival, he kept at it until the poi broke. The fact that he caught any fish at all automatically resulted with him as the winner. Morikawa fumed at that fact, causing Izaki to try to calm him down.

Aichi was glad that nothing at the festival was too physically draining if at all. Maybe he was overacting a little bit. Maybe this festival was just the thing to help Kai relax. He watched as the older male gave his winning goldfish to Miwa and Tsukiko, claiming he had no need for them and reminded that no pets were allowed at the apartment.

And that's when Aichi saw it.

Kai's sleeves were still rolled up so they were past the elbows; a sight that the blue haired boy had never seen before. Underneath his left sleeve was something red, black and brown. At first, Aichi thought that it was a part of Kai's shirt, but then it occurred to him that there was no brown on his shirt. Not only that, but the young male noted that it looked like it was a part of his skin. The brunet looked over at Aichi. He noticed where the blue haired boy's eye line was at and his eyes widened in fear as he realized what it was. He hurriedly pulled his sleeves back down, covering the thing that Aichi was staring at.

"What is it, Kai?" Aichi asked, "What's that on your arm?"

"It's none of your business." Kai replied, feeling both ashamed and embarrassed that he would lower his guard like that. He didn't want anyone to see it, especially not Aichi. Aichi was the last person he wanted to see this weakness of his.

Aichi was deeply concerned with Kai's behaviour. He reached his hand out to him. "Kai…"

But it was rejected as the brunet slapped it away, receiving a gasp from the younger male. Kai glared at the blue haired boy. "Just shut up and forget about it!" he yelled. As soon as he realized what he had done, Kai looked over at everyone's faces before returning his gaze back at Aichi. All of them had shocked expressions with the exception of Aichi. Aichi's was a combination of shock and worry, which filled Kai with guilt. The brunet turned on his heel and fled as fast as he could, pushing through people to clear a path.

"Kai!" Aichi cried, running after him. Miwa was calling out for them to come back, but Aichi didn't listen, and it was clear that Kai didn't as well. The younger male continued to pursue the human male; making his way through the crowd of people as he chased him.

But it all stopped when Aichi felt a sharp pain on both his feet and fell to ground, forced to watch Kai continue to run until he disappeared within the crowd of people. Aichi tried to stand up and walk, but he felt pain with every step. He looked around. He couldn't see anyone he recognized among the people around him, and the amount of people was so great, it was hard to tell which way he came from.

He was lost.

Alone in a crowd of strangers with aching feet and with no sign showing him the way out let alone the direction Kai went off to or the way to reunite with Miwa and the others, Aichi was unsure of what to do and, admittedly, was a little frightened. All around him, the people minded their own business, not caring about the boy sitting on the ground. How long would he have to wait? What if the Black Winged Clan was here? Their appearances were very unpredictable and could show up when he least expected it. Loudly in his mind, he called for Kai, hoping he would find him soon.

But then, he heard a familiar voice, but it was not Kai.

Aichi turned his head to the direction of the voice. Standing on top of one of the stands was the cat from that afternoon. The cat gestured for him to follow it. With no other choice, Aichi followed it, trying to ignore the pain in his feet. It was not hard to follow the cat as it kept itself high up on the stands, but the hardest part was all the walking and trying to get past people.

After quite a bit of walking, they finally made it out of the crowd and found themselves in an open area with a bench. Wasting no time but trying to keep careful, the blue haired male rushed to the bench. He took off his geta, revealing some bad blisters on his feet. If he were back in the Cloudlands or even back at Kai's apartment, he wouldn't hesitate to use his magic to heal his feet. However, he feared that it would draw too much attention and thus held back.

The cat jumped up onto the bench, meowing to signal the boy of its presence. Aichi looked over at the cat and smiled before thanking it for its help. The feline looked around.

"I don't see your friend around here," it commented.

Aichi lowered his head. "I may have said something to upset him and he ran off. I tried to follow him… but I guess I shouldn't try to run in foreign shoes. Haha…"

Despite the joke, the blue haired male was rather depressed of the situation. Whenever it felt like he and the human male were getting closer, he had to say or do anything to make him take some steps back. Would they ever be able to properly close the gap?

Sensing the boy's uneasiness, the cat climbed onto his lap and snuggled against him. Aichi continued as he began to stroke the cat. "You know… Kai goes through so much just to keep me safe; he lets me stay at his apartment, he'll fight bad guys, and he keeps telling me that everything is okay. But I can clearly see I'm nothing but a burden to him. He suffered a heart attack because of me." Tears began to fall down Aichi's cheeks. "If I had known sooner about his heart condition… I never would've suggested to do something like ride a skateboard down a slope. I need to get stronger. I have to get stronger! I need to protect Kai!"

"Oh, you need to protect me, huh?"

Aichi flinched as he heard the familiar voice. He turned around; cerulean eyes meeting teal. Kai stood there, breathing a little heavier. He had to have ran a lot. Worried that the brunet would collapse again, Aichi was about to get up and lead Kai to the bench when the pain from his feet came back to him. Kai told Aichi to sit down, walking over to the bench and taking a seat beside him. Noticing the cat was there too, the human male reached out his hand and let the cat sniff his hand before petting the feline after he knew he got the okay.

"Miwa called me and told me you followed me after I ran off," the brunet continued, "I looked and saw that you weren't there and tried to find you."

But the words weren't processing in Aichi's head. His mind was filled with other thoughts; thoughts he couldn't help but blurt out. "How much did you hear?"

Kai lowered his head. "I heard a lot. About the stuff I've done for you, how you need to get stronger… the fact that you know about my heart condition. I'm guessing Miss Tsukiko told you. It does explain your recent behaviour."

Aichi went pale. The one thing he was told not to let happen and he ended up letting it happen, even if it wasn't really on purpose. "Kai… I…"

But before he could say anything more, Kai continued once again, making eye contact with the blue haired male. "You know, you are a lot stronger than you think you are. You are able to do things that I would never think of doing; sword fighting, ballroom dancing, riding a skateboard down a slope, those are incredible things, Aichi."

It was the younger male's turn to lower his head. "Sword fighting and ballroom dancing are common practices in the Cloudlands… and if not for my crazy idea, you wouldn't have…"

"Didn't you brag before how people praise your sword fighting? And Miss Tsukiko wouldn't have hired you to make dance choreography for the play if she didn't think you were capable. Not to mention we would both be in worse trouble if we didn't follow your plan of skating down the slope. It truly was a risky plan and it wasn't without consequences, but look where we are now; sitting on a bench waiting for the fireworks to start. If I were you, I would say that the risk was worth it, wouldn't you?"

Aichi looked back up at the brunet; tears welling up in his eyes. "Even if this is the better alternative, I hate that you collapsed because of me!" he yelled, "I was scared seeing you like that! And what made it worse that I didn't know what I could do to help you! If Miwa hadn't called your cell then… I worry what would've happened to you…"

Without warning, the cat leaped off the bench just as Kai leaned closer and pulled Aichi into his arms, locking him in an embrace. Aichi sat frozen, speechless as to what just happened. This was the first time he had been pulled into an embrace by the human male. If this wasn't the first, then it was the first time it felt so passionate. Kai held the blue haired male tightly against him in desperation to erase the tears. He didn't know how else to feel seeing a beauty like Aichi crying for his sake. As much as Aichi praised him for the amazing things he's done, Kai didn't really feel like he deserved that praise, especially recently. Aichi already learned one of his weaknesses. If he were to learn his other weakness, would the winged male still see him in that light?

"Don't keep thinking back to the past," Kai replied, "However, don't forget the past, for it is the past that shapes us into who we are. What I'm saying is that you shouldn't keep thinking back to what you could've done, but rather use it to determine your actions in the future. You are strong, Aichi. You just lack the self confidence."

"But how do you know I won't make the same mistake even with all that in mind?" Aichi asked, letting out little sniffles.

"Well, let's just say as an example, your path to the future is like flying for the first time. It's a wonderful feeling once you're able to overcome it. All your troubles flow through you like the breeze. It's better than anything you could ever experience in your entire life. Have confidence in yourself and you can truly experience it for yourself."

After he finished, Kai realized how much of a hypocrite he was sounding like; saying such pretty words when he himself never followed them. He only hoped Aichi didn't notice the hypocrisy. However, he hoped that these words made Aichi feel better, as he couldn't see the blue haired male's face like this.

As for Aichi, the words left him even more speechless. They were worded differently, but they reminded him of something he heard in the past; words that the winged male kept close to him. The words combined with Kai's embrace left a very nostalgic feeling in Aichi. But where from he wondered. Without realizing it, Aichi wrapped his own arms around the older male and deepened into the embrace. He felt like he was safe in Kai's arms; like any evil in the world disappeared when they hold each other like this. "Thank you, Kai," he spoke in a soft voice.

Kai couldn't but smile at Aichi's words. Thinking about it, he seemed to find it easier to smile whenever the blue haired boy was around. Everything the winged male did, Kai felt himself more amazed. Not just that, but Aichi's presence brought a warm feeling to him. It had only just occurred to him as they embraced. He couldn't lie to himself anymore. He kept denying it, but the truth was clear as day.

He was in love with Aichi.

The two pulled away as Aichi began looking around. "So, I've been meaning to ask," the blue haired boy began, "But what exactly are fireworks? How do we know when they've shown up?"

"I figured," Kai replied, "I didn't think you'd have fireworks in the Cloudlands. They would probably be dangerous to winged people."

Just as he said that, Aichi jumped closer, clinging onto the human male. "Dangerous to winged people?! You didn't tell me that! Is it really a good idea for me to be here then?!"

The older male patted the younger on the head. "I should rephrase that. They'd probably be dangerous to winged people if they were flying while fireworks were being set off. You're fine as long as you stay on the ground."

As if on cue, a loud sound rang above them. Aichi jumped once again, clinging onto the brunet tighter. "What was that?!"

Kai couldn't believe how fidgety the younger male was at the moment. He was acting like a terrified bird, which didn't sound that far off. He couldn't contain himself as he let out a small chuckle. "It's fine," he assured the blue haired male, "Look up. This is actually a great view."

Aichi was hesitant at first, but eventually gave in and looked up. When he did, a magnificent sight greeted him. It looked like shooting stars flying upwards before turning into colourful flowers of light that slowly disappear after a bit of time. The sound no longer bothered him, for the sight kept his attention.

"It's so beautiful..." the blue haired male sighed in a dreamy tone.

Kai looked down at Aichi, who was still clinging to him. He needed to get Aichi to let go, not because he disliked it, but because of a strange feeling that was overcoming him. As the winged male leaned closer to him, Kai caught a sniff of a familiar scent; the same scent he smelled back when Aichi fell on top of him in just a towel. However, it felt like the scent got stronger, for it wouldn't leave his senses and it was developing an urge within him, which didn't help as he looked down at the blue haired boy. The brunet's body was getting hotter the more he looked at the innocent boy; thoughts he never thought of before clouding his mind, like how arousing Aichi looked in that yukata, and how he wanted to rip it off him and devour him. He needed to fight these urges. He needed to create space between the two of them.

Aichi could feel the older male squirming out of his grasp, snapping the younger of the two out of his focus on the fireworks. "I'm sorry, Kai. Are you alright?" He then noticed that the brunet was breathing heavily with a red face. He was starting to get concerned.

"I'm fine!" he assured the blue haired male albeit a little harshly, "I just need to use the bathroom…"

Before Aichi could question anything else, Kai got off the bench and dashed towards the closest bathroom he could find. The blue haired boy was about to follow him but, once again, he forgot about his blisters and ended up sitting back down. The cat, who had been watching the whole thing from below the bench, jumped back up and sat beside the young male.

"Just leave him be," the cat told the winged male, "He will return once things have calmed down."

Even with that said, Aichi couldn't help but worry about Kai. "I wonder what's wrong…"

"It's like I told you before," said the cat, "There is a monstrous side in him. It seems he's able to control it for now… but there will eventually come a time when he won't be able to control it, and you will get hurt in the process."

"You keep saying there's a monstrous side," said Aichi, "Supposing that's true, what is it?"

The cat began to lick itself. "I can only sense it. I don't know what it is exactly. That's why I tell you to be careful."

The blue haired male was about to retort once again that Kai was no monster when his mind flashed back to earlier that day when Kai collapsed. His eyes at the time did not look like the usual teal, but a golden eye that looked like it belonged to a reptile. Aichi was confused with that. Kai was human… right? There was no way he had some sort of inner beast… right?

He was so deep into his thoughts that time passed rather quickly. He didn't notice when Kai had come back or the fact that the fireworks show had just reached its finale. With nothing else left to do at the festival, Kai offered to give Aichi a piggyback ride back to the apartment .Aichi was embarrassed of the thought at first but eventually accepted the brunet's offer. As soon as they got inside, Kai dropped the younger male on the bed.

"Heal your feet," said Kai, "I'll grab the futon." He was about to pull the futon out until…

"Wait!"

The human male looked back at Aichi, who seemed like he had something to say but was hesitant to say anything. After a bit of time, he was able to spit it out. "Isn't it hard work to constantly pull the futon out and then put it back in in the mornings? Wouldn't it be easier to… share the bed? Th-that is… if you don't mind…"

Kai was flabbergasted. Was Aichi a mind reader? No, Aichi would have said otherwise. Either his perception caught on with Kai's thoughts or it was just pure coincidence. Either way, the winged male asked the very same question the brunet had been trying to figure out how to ask. "Do what you like."

With all said and done, Aichi healed up his feet, then they got into their pajamas and then went to bed. Aichi pretended to be asleep, then waited until the older male was asleep. Once he knew that Kai was asleep, the blue haired male took the other's hand held it tightly without waking him up. He stared at the brunet's sleeping face. A man so kind and yet so mysterious; Aichi wanted so desperately to know everything about him. He had decided; starting tomorrow, he will do everything he can to find out who Toshiki Kai really was. With that declaration in mind, he fell asleep, hoping that by the time tomorrow ended, they no longer kept any secrets between each other and become a lot closer.

XxXxX

Miwa and Tsukiko returned home, exhausted with how much fun they had. The moment they stepped in, Tsukiko went to the kitchen and poured herself a drink of water. Miwa sat down on the couch, waiting until his mom was out of the kitchen before asking her about something he wanted to bring up all day.

"You know," he began, "I know you were worried about Kai collapsing. I was too. But it feels like he's slowly returning to his old self. So long as it doesn't happen again, do you think the fact that he's becoming his old self again might be a good thing?"

Tsukiko sat on the couch opposite of him, staring at him with a serious face. "At face value, the fact that he's retained some of his old self is a good thing. However, that means more of him will return, including the parts of him we tried to seal away in the first place." She leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "That would include his inner demons that took over once before. He may be fine now, but he will be more prone to collapsing. If it keeps going like this, even I won't be able to save him." She stood up and walked to the stairs to the basement. "By the way, have you spoken with _him_ recently?"

It was Miwa's turn to look at her with a serious face. "He told me that the members of the Black Winged Clan that are down here have been on edge lately. Do you think it was them that tried to attack Aichi and Kai? Why would they do that?"

The blonde woman shook her head. "I don't know. I'm afraid to think that something awful is happening to the Cloudlands while we are here on Earth."

"Let me guess; you want me to tell _him_ to keep an eye on the Black Winged Clan."

"I also want him to keep an eye on Aichi as well."

Miwa's eyes widened. "On Aichi? But why?"

"I have no idea why he is here on Earth," Tsukiko replied, "But it is my greatest fear that he might be the reason for Toshiki's heart attack today. He might be responsible for any future heart attack Toshiki experiences in the future, even if it isn't on purpose."

"Are you against the idea of these two falling in love?"

Tsukiko looked over at her son; her expression full of sorrow. "If I were the one writing their story, I would wish for them to live happily ever after together. But this isn't a fairytale, and if what happens is the thing I fear may happen, then it would be for the best that they never be together. But we won't be hasty. We will watch over them and see what happens. Only if I know that Toshiki's life is in danger will be when I step in. After all, I promised Toshiki's mother that I would protect him."

Miwa continued to stare at her. "You know… I know you made that promise to Kai's mom. But I always find myself wondering… what she would do in this situation. Would she want Kai's emotions to get bottled away like this? From what I remember of her, she would always fight for the happiness of the ones she-!"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!"

Tsukiko glared at her son with fiery eyes, but at the same time, tears fell down her cheeks. Miwa was shocked. The last time she ever showed an expression like that was ten years ago.

"I don't want you to say another word about her," the older woman continued, "I am not like her, but I will do best to do what she asked of me my own way. Now go!"

The younger male remained silent before he began walking upstairs. "I'm gonna change clothes and then I'll go see _him_." No more words were given to each other as Tsukiko went down to the basement. As soon as she got to her workroom, she flung herself over the bed and continued to cry.

"Why did you have to go?" she sobbed to someone who was not anywhere except in her own memories, "You promised me we would always be together." The blonde woman cried and cried until her tears were all dried up and she ended up falling asleep.


	18. Chapter 17: Red Wings and White Knights

Ever since the last time he went to the ruins, Ren spent a few minutes every day up at the tower with the crystal ball, checking on Kyou's progress. Every day he would hear about his subordinate's failures and every day, the king would be furious. He had even considered giving up on the silver haired man, questioning if he would even succeed in getting one thing right. However, he knew that if he gave up now, he would lose his chance. He decided to say nothing and have faith in Kyou, for he knew that he had no choice.

Tetsu watched Ren go up the tower and come down every day. He observed the king's actions and his wellbeing, fearing that the stress would damage his health. Ever since the previous king died, Ren took on all the responsibilities himself. Being a king is a tough task on its own, but Ren had to take on the role at the young age of nine. Ever since then, the young king would collapse, and Tetsu would always worry. He stayed by Ren's side, serving as his pillar. As the years went on, Ren collapsed less and less, but it didn't end completely.

However, the general wondered; was it truly the stress of being king that caused Ren to collapse constantly, or was it a piece of the Void that had slipped into his heart?

He knew full well Ren was under the Void's control. After all, Tetsu knew Ren better than anyone. The two had been together since they were kids after all. He knew that the Ren he knew would never do such horrible things, or plan anything that would destroy their home. However, he had no power against the king, and he had seen the things that happened to those who betrayed him. As much as he wanted to save him from the Void, the general knew reckless actions would only make things worse. So he observed the king, watching over him, waiting for the opportunity to save him,whatever that opportunity may be.

As he watched over the king, another thing caught Tetsu's eye. Ever since the day after they failed to capture Prince Aichi, Asaka had been acting strangely. She would go and flirt with the king like always, but she had this plotting air around her. Like with the king, Tetsu observed her actions, waiting for the right opportunity to confront her.

This was the day.

As Asaka walked through the halls, heading to the castle exit, she saw Tetsu standing there. Nonetheless, she continued walking, paying him no mind. The general examined her; a woman dressed like she was going on a hunt. What was she planning?

"Is there a reason you're going out like that?" he asked her.

The navy haired woman stopped. "If you must know, I'm going after some sweet little canaries. A little bird told me there were some in the Kingdom of the Green Winged Clan."

Tetsu frowned. He knew what that was code for. She was still upset with what happened that day, when she didn't take the captain of the Gold Winged Clan hostage. She must be thinking of redeeming herself by going after the Gold Winged Clan.

As the woman was about to walk away, Tetsu grabbed her arm. "You do realize that your actions will cause a war, right?"

Asaka snickered. "Tetsu, Tetsu, Tetsu," she taunted him, "Don't you realize it? It doesn't really matter what I do. The clans will go to war with each other anyway. That is His Majesty's plan."

"And you are okay with that?"

"But of course. It is His Majesty's will. And his will is my will."

Tetsu held her arm tighter. "It is the will of the Void that we serve, not His Majesty's."

But Asaka shook her head. "How do we know that the Void's will and His Majesty's will are not the same thing."

The general glared at the woman. "His Majesty would never wish harm on the Cloudlands!"

The navy haired knight pulled her arm out as hard as she could and managed to break free. She stared at the raven haired man. "Listen, Tetsu. I don't deny that His Majesty probably never wished harm on the Cloudlands before. At the same time, I know that His Majesty is not weak. If he wished it, he would never dare let the Void control him. If his will is the Void's will, there must be a reason; a reason that we don't know about. Even if there isn't a reason, I want to trust in King Ren. Don't you, Tetsu?"

"I do trust in King Ren," Tetsu replied, "That's why I know he would not dare harm the Cloudlands and let the Void win." He pulled something out from his satchel and gave it to Asaka. "Perhaps through you, we will be able to see the extent of the Void's control. Go pursue the Gold Winged Clan members. And I want you to bring this with you."

Asaka stared at the object in her hands. She glared at him. "You dare use me as a guinea pig for your plan?! What even is this anyway?!"

"Something His Majesty must never get his hands on, no matter what the cost."

"And supposing he finds out about it?"

"Depending on how strong the Void's control, His Majesty might go after you and possibly kill you."

Asaka threw the object at him. "If you are asking me to anger His Majesty, then you can forget it! I will never dare do anything to betray him!" Furious, she turned around and stretched her wings, ready to fly away. Just as she was ready to take off…

"King Ren deeply cares about you, you know."

She stopped, looking back at the raven haired man. "This better not be some trick."

Tetsu shook his head. "I would not lie about the feelings one shares with another. Do you recall the day you first met? You, a knight in training with lots of potential. His Majesty could not take his eyes off of you. He told me he how desperately he wanted you to fight by his side. It was the first time in many years I felt that it was His Majesty speaking and not the Void. As for myself, I personally did not think you would be good enough. Do you care to prove me wrong and His Majesty right? If you succeed, His Majesty may be his true self again."

"Would a man who truly cares for a woman almost choke her to death?"

"I've been observing His Majesty the past few days. As the days pass I feel like I'm looking at more of His Majesty and less a pawn of the Void. If that is true, then it is possible we can save His Majesty and there will be no bloodshed."

The female knight stared at the general, observing him; his stone cold expression was unwavering. She walked over to him. "You are telling the truth?" she asked, trying to mask the hope in her voice, "Swear to me that the words you say are not false."

The raven haired male stared down at her, keeping his gaze on her as he replied "I swear on His Majesty's name."

Silence filled the air, giving a chilling vibe to the scene between the two knights. Asaka's eyes narrowed. "You are a terrifying man." She snatched the object from Tetsu's hands, putting it away in her own satchel. "If I find out you have deceived me, I will kill you when you least see it coming before dying by the king's hand."

Tetsu remained silent, irritating the navy haired woman. Knowing full well she was not going to get anything more out of him, she flew off. The general watched as she left, hoping for the best.

XxXxX

Days had passed since they started searching through the archives and Naoki and Kamui still hadn't found anything on the Red Winged Clan. They went at it almost nonstop, taking breaks only to eat, sleep, or when Nagisa came to check on Kamui (which annoyed the raven haired male immensely).

Today didn't seem any different. The two were searching different sections of the archive room and there was still no sign of what they were searching for. Drained from all the searching, Kamui sat down at the closest chair, closing his eyes as he rest up. He was starting to doubt if there even was anything on the Red Winged Clan here. All this hard work for nothing; he would slap himself for agreeing to help out. He wanted nothing more then to see Princess Emi again; to see her beautiful smile, to hear her beautiful laugh. He hoped to hurry so they could return to the Kingdom of the Gold Winged Clan.

"Hey! Kamui, look at this!"

Kamui jumped from Naoki's sudden call and perked up. Could it be? Did Naoki find something? He rushed over to him.

"You found something?!" he asked in excitement.

Naoki smirked and pulled out what he found. "Take a look at this!"

The younger knight went from excitement to disappointment within seconds upon seeing the object in the auburn haired male's hands. "What the hell is this?"

"What do you mean by that?!" the older knight replied in annoyance, "Can't you tell that it's a cookbook?"

Kamui pounced on him in anger, clinging to the older's armour and shaking him. "Of course I can see that it's a cookbook! Why would you disturb me over a stupid cookbook, stupid?!"

It was Naoki's turn to get angry. "Who are you calling stupid, stupid?! If you actually read the title, you would understand!"

"The title?" Kamui stared at the book, reading the title. It read: 'Culinary Dishes of the Red Winged Clan'. His eyes widened. "This is a Red Winged Clan cookbook!"

Naoki grinned. "Exactly! It may not be much, but it's something. That means there's bound to be more Red Winged Clan stuff around here."

The younger male's expression faltered. "'There's bound to be'?" he asked, "Isn't there more Red Winged Clan stuff where you found it?"

"No, I found it with a bunch of other cookbooks." Naoki replied, "I was feeling hungry and I was thinking of Nagisa's cooking. She's an amazing cook for her age and I wanted to see if I could find something to suggest for her to make tonight. You have a good taste in women, Kamui. If not for her wing colour or her age, I would ask if she would to be my bride instead."

Every single thing that came out of the auburn haired male's mouth infuriated the raven haired male even more. For a guy who went on how much he wanted to help the prince, he wasn't taking the whole thing seriously. How much he wanted to strangle the older knight, but managed to have enough willpower to hold back. He walked away and sat back down on the chair, defeated.

"So we only found one thing involving the Red Winged Clan," Kamui remarked, "And it was a coincidence that you found it. But a cookbook isn't enough though. If we have to search for individual stuff rather than a whole group, it may take a lot longer than I thought."

Naoki, who had started reading the cookbook, looked up at the younger knight. "Are you homesick?"

Kamui glared at him. "I'm not homesick!" he cried out before averting his gaze, "Well, not that homesick…"

The raven haired male felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see the older male there. Naoki smirked. "Cheer up! Once we find out enough on the Red Winged Clan, we'll be back home before you know it! Remember, we're doing this for the prince!"

The younger knight smiled. "Right! For the prince! And for the queen and the princess!" With new determination, Kamui rushed back and began to search through more stuff, hoping he finds anything of value.

An hour had passed since then. Kamui kept searching as hard as he could, not only looking at covers, but skimming through the books. With every book, he felt his brain hurt more and more. Why did searching have to hurt this much?

"Hey, Kamui," he heard Naoki speak up, "Is it just me, or is the sound of dragon pepper molten lava cake really terrifying?"

Kamui's eye twitched when he noticed what his partner was doing. "You're still reading that cookbook?"

The auburn haired male looked at him. "I can't help it! I'm curious about their dishes! But I have to say that if their personalities are as dangerous as their dishes, then it might've been a good idea they were exiled."

"That's an awful thing to say."

"...Yeah, it was. I shouldn't judge a clan by their dishes and I feel bad for doing so."

"You talking about the Red Winged Clan recipes?"

Both males turned to see Nagisa standing there. Kamui flew to the other side of the room. The Green Winged girl paid him no mind as she walked over to Naoki, looking at the book he was holding.

"I read up about it. The Red Winged Clan love their strong tasting and spicy dishes," she continued, "In fact, their spiciest food are used to help train warriors as it helps them with their endurance. Though it is believed that their spiciest dishes are so hot they could kill someone."

Naoki's eyes widened from the fact. "Yikes! And I thought the captain was tough when it came to training…"

"Wait a minute!" Kamui called out, "Does that mean you know where the Red Winged Clan stuff is?"

Nagisa frowned. "I'm sorry, Kamui. It was a while ago and my brother has a habit of reorganizing the archives whenever he gets bored. But I do know where to find one thing that brings up the Red Winged Clan. It was a book I read recently."

The young girl lacked hesitation as she glided to the other side of the room and flew up to one of the shelves, pulling out a book. Once she had the book, she flew back to her original location. Kamui walked back over as he and Naoki looked at the book Nagisa brought over. The title was 'Red Dragons and the Red Winged Clan'. Both males eyes widened.

"No way!" Kamui cried out, "Are you saying red dragons are connected to the Red Winged Clan in some way?!"

"I've never heard of anyone befriending _any_ dragon, let alone a red dragon!" Naoki replied, "Aren't red dragons known as the most powerful of all dragons?"

Kamui nodded. "Yeah… red dragons are so powerful and fierce that no living creature dares to get close. It's even more terrifying to be near one in the dark, given they have night vision."

"Dragons won't attack winged beings though," Nagisa remarked, opening up the book, "Not without good reason at least. According to the book, the reason why dragons won't allow themselves close to winged people is not due to lack of respect, but because they prefer their space. So the winged beings leave them alone as their form of respect."

"So how did the Red Winged Clan manage to befriend red dragons?" Naoki asked.

Nagisa smiled at the boys as she flipped through the pages. "Red dragons are very prideful and tend to isolate themselves from all of the Cloudlands, even other dragons. However, there was a point in time when red dragons almost fell extinct when the Void sent monsters to attack them. The Red Winged Clan rushed to their rescue and together, they defeated the monsters. A pact was created between the Red Winged Clan and the red dragons as the Red Winged Clan believed red dragons could provide something to help them protect the Cloudlands, and some red dragons even agreed to live with the Red Winged Clan at their kingdom."

Kamui and Naoki looked at each other. "Red dragons to help protect the Cloudlands?" the younger of the two asked.

"Could that 'tool' that black winged king mentioned have something to do with red dragons?" Naoki questioned. He ran back to one of the bookshelves. "We need to find out more! We're getting closer! I can feel it in my gut!"

The raven knight nodded. "You know, I'm starting to believe we can do this! If we keep this up, His Highness will surely be proud of us!" He looked over at Nagisa with a smile. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but thanks Nagisa! You were a great help."

The green winged girl's eyes sparkled at the gold winged knight's words. Kamui praised her. That was the first time he had ever done something like that. Her efforts to study to make Kamui fall in love with her through her mind were paying off. She knew she had to keep going to keep his attention on her.

"You know, Kamui. I actually know a lot about red dragons." She leaned in close to him. "For example, did you know red dragons find their mate through smell? Male red dragons will claim a female with a scent that he likes. Though things would get disastrous if he falls into heat during that time. If he's around his potential mate during his heat, he will-!"

"Nagisa," Kamui interrupted, "Sorry, but Naoki and I are busy searching for Red Winged Clan stuff. This isn't the time to talk about random stuff."

"But it's been a long time since we've seen each other!" she whined, clinging onto the raven haired knight like her life depended on it, "I want to spend time with you as much as possible, especially after now you're a knight!"

Kamui tried to push her off. "And you're disrupting me while I'm on the job!"

Naoki, who was looking at another book, looked back at the children. "That reminds me, Kamui," he spoke up, "You said you came from a family of traders. What made you decide to become a knight rather than take up the family business?"

"That's right!" Nagisa exclaimed, "If you were still in the trading business, once you marry me, you'd be in charge of both our families's businesses!"

The younger gold winged knight sighed. "First of all, Gouki would still be head of your family's business since he's older. Second, we aren't getting married because of the law on intercom relationships."

"Isn't the term 'inter-clan'?" Naoki corrected.

Kamui blushed. "You know what I mean! And thirdly, as to why I became a knight, well…" He fell silent for a bit before he smirked. "What if I told you that before becoming a knight, I rescued Prince Aichi from a terrifying beast?"

The auburn haired male stared wide eyed at his companion before he burst into laughter. "Haha! Good one, Kamui!"

But the younger male glared at him. "It's not a joke! I really did save the prince from a big, scary creature!"

"Stop laughing at my Kamui!" Nagisa shouted, "He's amazing and can do anything better than you!"

The older male's laughter died down, but had not completely calmed down. "Come on, you can't seriously have me believe you saved His Highness from a monster before becoming a knight."

"I did!" Kamui replied, "In fact, I saved him from not one, but two monsters of the Void!"

"Okay, now I know you're bullshitting. A kid like you saved the prince from two monsters of the Void? Knights of the Gold Winged Clan struggle just taking on one."

"I'm not lying."

"Then give specifics. When did it happen? How did it happen?"

"If you don't believe me, you can ask His Highness when he gets back!"

"Aren't you just saying that His Highness would prove it as a form of twisting this whole thing around?! The fact that you won't give any more specifics than that is also suspicious!"

"Well, maybe I don't want to give specifics because I don't remember! Has that ever occurred to you?!"

"You have to remember the basic details though!"

The discussion was starting to get heated. Naoki and Kamui kept glaring daggers at each other. It didn't help Nagisa was also shouting support to Kamui. This eventually led to the younger male snapping.

"I can't stand cooking myself in here for much longer!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"'Cooking'?" Naoki pondered, "Don't you mean 'cooping'?"

"WHATEVER! I need some fresh air!" With that said, he managed to break free from the young girl's grasp and stormed out of the room, leaving Naoki and Nagisa dumbfounded.

The streets weren't as busy as they were during the day, but it wasn't as peaceful as it was in the evening. Nonetheless, Kamui still preferred it to the chaos that was going on between Naoki's attention going all over the place and Nagisa clinging to him like crazy. He needed some time alone to think.

The thing that made him become a knight… the raven haired male hadn't thought back to that in a while. Anyone who knew him would've assumed he became a knight so he could be close to Princess Emi. In fact, he could've just said that and that might've been serviceable. But it wasn't a lie that he became a knight through Aichi, and he wasn't ashamed to admit that. It was just the details were both embarrassing and uncomfortable to tell. A smile fell on his face as he began to reminisce that day.

_It happened a couple of years ago. Kamui had been helping out his family with their trading business since he could remember, but as he grew older, he began to question if exporting and importing goods to other kingdoms was really what he wanted to do. Sure; the idea of travelling to the other kingdoms was exciting, but there was something missing from it._

_One day, as he was going through a rebellious stage at the time, Kamui decided to skip on work for a day and go out into Sunrise Valley to do some exploration. It was his first time leaving the kingdom alone, but he didn't care. Even if he were to come across some danger, he brought a slingshot with him so he could face them armed. He roamed the valley, drinking in the atmosphere around him. There was a sense of freedom as he flew around. If this was what it would be like to roam around freely like this, he wouldn't mind skipping out on work all the time._

_That all changed however when he heard a shriek._

_The raven haired male stopped where he was, freaked out by the sound. But the hesitation was only brief. Someone was in trouble, and he was going to go help them. He flew in the direction of the shriek, prepared to act the part of a hero. However when he got there, the sight was a lot more terrifying than he thought._

_Right in front of him was a big sky leopard; a sky blue coloured leopard with soft white wings that looked like clouds. As Kamui observed closer, he realized that there was someone underneath the leopard. The young boy began to freak out. The giant feline was trying to eat someone alive. What should he do? Should he fly back for help? Looking back down at his slingshot, he remembered why he came this way. He wanted to be a hero, and he was going to be a hero. He wasn't going to be a coward. He grabbed a pebble, aimed his slingshot, and fired it at the sky leopard._

_It hit!_

_However, it didn't hurt it. Rather, it only drew the creature's attention to Kamui. At that moment, the young boy regretted his actions. Screw being a hero! He flew away as fast as he could. But the sky leopard was a lot faster. It caught up to him in an instant and pounced on him, dragging both of them down to the ground. Kamui was pinned down, staring face to face with the cat. Whimpers escaped his lips as the beast roared. He knew it; this was the end. He would die right there and never see everyone he loved ever again. He closed his eyes as he waited for impact..._

" _Wait! Don't hurt him!"_

_Weight was literally off Kamui's shoulders as it seemed like the leopard got off him. The young male opened his eyes and looked over to see the leopard walking over to someone and… the person was petting it? He sat up and observed the person closely. It appeared to be a girl? No, it was a boy with shoulder length blue hair and big cerulean eyes. He also had gold wings, which meant he was from the same clan as Kamui, but the raven haired boy had never seen him before, and he knew everyone from the Gold Winged Clan considering his family's business._

" _It's alright," the boy spoke calmly to… the leopard? "I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you." The boy then walked over to Kamui and stretched out his hand. "Are you alright?"_

_Kamui slapped the older boy's hand away before getting up himself. "I'm fine," he replied, "After all, it'll take more than a sky leopard to stop me!" He looked up at the other male. "So what's the deal with the leopard anyway? Wasn't it trying to attack you? That's why I tried to rescue you."_

" _Attack me?" the blue haired male began to think. His eyes widened in realization. "Oh! I understand now!" He bowed. "What you rescued me from was from his barrage of kisses."_

" _... Kisses?"_

" _You see, the sky leopard was telling me he got lost on his way to the Twilight Mountains, which is close by the valley. He was heading there to visit his cousins, the nebulions, and he had no idea which direction the mountains were from here. So I told him that I would accompany him and he showed me his gratitude in kisses."_

_Kamui stood there in silence. "... The leopard told you this?"_

" _Well, he also asked me how my day was as well as delved into conversation about the weather," the older male continued, "I never knew sky leopards were good at holding conversations like this. It was a lot of fun."_

" _... You had a conversation… with a sky leopard." Kamui sighed. "Are you some kind of weirdo or something?"_

_The blue haired male sheepishly grinned as he scratched his head. "It does sound a little weird, doesn't it? Talking to animals…" He climbed onto the sky leopard's back. "Anyways, I need to help this guy get to the mountains. You should probably head home. You don't want to worry your family."_

" _Wait!" Kamui stopped him, "Aren't the mountains dangerous? I hear there are creatures that could tear someone limb from limb!"_

_The blue haired boy began to think about that. "I guess that's true…" he replied, "There are dangers up in the mountains."_

" _And you're going to put yourself in danger just for a sky leopard?"_

" _We winged beings created the Cloudlands, right? Then shouldn't we help any creatures in distress that live here?"_

_Kamui was at a loss for words. Was it possible for someone brimming with kindness like him to exist? So kind and gentle… and yet lacked a great sense of danger. But it had nothing to do with him, right? If this idiot wanted to fly off to the mountains alone, and unarmed for that matter, why should he care? He should just head back to the kingdom._

_But as much as he wanted to, he had a feeling that leaving the older male alone was a bad idea. After all, he might also have a family worried about him. His insistence in helping the sky leopard meant he wouldn't listen to the young boy in terms of leaving. That only meant one solution. Kamui groaned._

" _Move over!" he commanded the blue haired male as he ran over to the sky leopard and tried to get on, "I'm coming too."_

_The older male stared in surprise. "I can't let you do that! You-!"_

" _If you say it's because I'm a kid, I'm gonna deck you."_

" _I wasn't gonna say that. After all, one can become a knight at a young age now after Captain Misaki proved herself worthy to be one at ten years old and then became captain at thirteen. I'm just saying that you probably have better things to do. Plus, you don't want to worry your family."_

_Kamui glared at the other male as he finally got on the leopard, sitting in the front. "I could throw that one back at you. How would your family react if you were going to go somewhere dangerous by yourself just to help a sky leopard?"_

" _I…" the blue haired male fell silent. The young boy took that to mean the other had nothing more to say._

" _Then it's settled! I'm coming with you! Now let's go!" And with that, they flew up to the mountains!_

… _At least, that's what should've happened, but the leopard kept still, making Kamui look like an idiot as a result. He grew furious. "Come on! When the Great Kamui tells you to go, you go!" The leopard continued to stand there. The blue haired boy tapped on Kamui's shoulder._

" _Um, I think he wants an apology for attacking him earlier." he pointed out._

_Red eyes widened. "An apology?!" But when he looked back at the sky leopard, he knew it was fair. After all, he did attack it due to a misunderstanding. Was he really going to listen to a guy who believed the giant feline could talk though? But it wasn't like he had any choice. "I'm sorry for attacking you."_

_The leopard let out a growl. The blue haired boy laughed nervously. "He, uh, also says he doesn't appreciate you ordering him around, as well as some name calling towards you that I wish not to repeat…"_

" _You've gotta be kidding…" Kamui muttered under his breath before speaking up. "I'm sorry about that too. May we please go?"_

_It growled again, and once again the older boy translated it. "Now he says he would appreciate it if I sit in front so I can give him directions."_

_This resulted in Kamui glaring at him. "Are you sure you're not making this stuff up so you can get your own way? I'm sure he can hear you just fine from here." The innocent expression on the other boy's face said otherwise, followed by a roar from the leopard. The raven haired male sighed before getting off and getting back on behind the older male, not without muttering some insults first. Once he was properly seated behind the older male, the latter gave the leopard the okay, giving the specific direction before they flew off._

_As they flew towards the direction of the Twilight Mountains, the blue haired male looked back at Kamui. "You said your name is Kamui, right?" he asked, "It just occurred to me that I had yet to introduce myself. I'm-!"_

_Before he said anymore, Kamui glared at him. "Don't get the wrong idea, stupid," he said, "I'm only just coming along so I don't have to worry about your sorry butt. Once the sky leopard is taken to the mountains and we return to Sunrise Valley, I don't care what you do."_

_The older male just smiled. "Well, it's nice of you to accompany me."_

_Kamui just grunted. Didn't that idiot realize that he was insulting him? What kind of environment did he grow up in to be this dense? He could only hope to get this over with quickly so he would never have to deal with him again._

_It didn't take them long to get to the mountains. The blue haired boy marveled at the sight, and Kamui himself had to admit it was pretty amazing. The entire mountainside was made of purple rock that sparkled under the beautiful and sudden starry twilight sky. It is worth noting that the sky is always that of a twilight sky regardless of the time of day, however because of this, that meant it was easy for monsters to make their move. That was all the more reason to help the sky leopard find the nebulions and head back as soon as possible._

" _Do you see your cousins anywhere?" the blue haired boy asked the sky leopard. The feline only replied with a small roar. He looked back at Kamui._

" _I'm going to use my magic to give us some light to help us get a better look," he told him, "Keep an eye out for anything that might come our way."_

_But before he could use his magic, Kamui grabbed his wrist. "Hang on! If you do that, we might get spotted sooner!"_

" _Even more reason to be on our guard," the older male replied, "It's hard to see much within this twilight, especially nebulions since they blend into the terrain. Not even the sky leopard can see them. That's why we need some light. It's worth the risk."_

_Kamui had no idea how to respond to that. This guy was a lot smarter than he looked. He never knew anyone so knowledgeable when it comes to the Cloudlands. Who was this guy? With no reason to object to it, he kept quiet. The blue haired boy took it as an okay signal and used his magic to make a ball of light. The ball of light flew down closer to the ground, allowing the blue haired boy to observe easier. Kamui in turn played his part and kept an eye on their surroundings. Everything seemed calm._

_Maybe a little too calm._

_There was no sign of any enemies but no sign of the nebulions either. Thinking about it, there was no sign of any form of wildlife on the mountains or above it. The two gold winged beings and the sky leopard were the only living things around. Something was wrong._

_Just as he was starting to worry, Kamui saw something flying from a distance. He couldn't make what it was at first, but as soon as it got closer and he noticed it heading straight towards them, he knew what it was._

" _Danger! Danger!" he cried, shaking the blue haired boy to get his attention. The latter noticed the thing flying towards them and began to panic. He told the leopard to dive down closer to the ground. The feline replied, heading down near the ground and swerving through rocks, hoping to get whatever was after them off their trail. But just as they were about to make it out safely, another one of them appeared in front of them and attacked them before they could react. The leopard crashed down through a crevasse and down to the ground, causing the two winged boys to fall off and get hurt._

_Kamui got up, covered in scrapes and bruises but aside from that he was alright. He looked towards the other boy and the leopard, who were in worse condition than him. He ran over to the blue haired boy. "Are you alright?!"_

_The other boy opened his eyes and sat up. He winced in pain as he tried to stand. They both noticed the blue haired boy's left leg was bleeding very badly. He wasn't in any condition to move. The leopard wasn't faring any better. Both its front right paw and its back left paw appeared to broken as well as a broken wing. A loud screech could be heard above them as the monsters were too big to get through the crevasse that they fell into. However, their brute force was strong enough to make cracks in the rock and they would eventually be able to break through, terrifying the blue haired male._

" _Kamui, listen to me," he tried to get the younger boy's attention, "You're the only one who can move and those creatures will be down here any minute to try to finish us off. Go back to the kingdom and get help."_

" _W-what are you saying?!" Kamui replied, "Your wings look fine. We can go back together!"_

_The blue haired boy shook his head. "I need to stay with the leopard. I promised him I would take him to his cousins and I intend to keep that promise."_

" _But that's suicide! Besides, you have no way to defend yourself!"_

" _I'll be fine." He noticed a long stick and picked it up. "It's no sword but it'll do. Hurry! If they get down here before you leave, they'll get you too!"_

_Kamui had a choice to make; to run and get help or stay. If he runs off, he would probably make it home safe. However, there was no guarantee help would arrive in time for the blue haired boy. And he knew he couldn't force the blue haired boy. While he was small, he was still bigger than Kamui, and it would make it harder to escape. If he decided to stay though, there was no guarantee the both of them would survive. He knew he had to make his choice soon, for it wouldn't be much longer until they manage to break through. Running looked like the better option. So long as he was safe, it was fine right?_

_Then why couldn't he move?_

" _Kamui! Run!" the blue haired boy shouted. But his words fell on deaf ears. Kamui knew full well what he wanted to do and he was going to do just that. He pulled out his slingshot, grabbed some nearby pebbles, and aimed it at the crevasse. His hands shook as he tried to aim, mainly due to fear, but there was a part of him that felt excited. How amazing it was to think that he would be fighting against actual monsters. And he was going to do it to protect someone._

_The moment the crevasse was widened and the monsters were able to get through, he shot the pebbles at them._

_And of course, they didn't do anything to hurt the monsters, but at least he could delay it just enough. He then had a plan; once he knew would surely work. He grabbed more pebbles and started flying close to one of the monsters, staring deep into blood red eyes. When he was at the perfect angle, he fired the pebbles at its eyes. It hit. The monster was blinded. But there was still the second one to handle. He dodged an attack from the second one due to their difference in size and repeated the same action, firing pebbles in its eyes._

_With both monsters blinded, he flew back down to the blue haired boy. "I think that should give us a bit of time." he told him._

_The blue haired boy just stared at him in awe. He couldn't believe Kamui's courage. Knowing this was their only chance, he took this as an opportunity to soar over to the leopard, being careful not hurt his leg more than he already had. Once over there, he brought his hands close to its broken wing and shined some light on it. He looked over at Kamui, who followed him._

" _How good are you at healing magic?" he asked him._

" _I'm not completely the best at magic," the younger male replied, "I've been told that my light magic is too... unstable to use. But I can do healing magic decently."_

" _That should be enough," said the other male, "Just heal his legs good enough that they don't hurt him." He made eye contact with the leopard. "Signal Kamui when you no longer feel pain on your legs. We'll get you to your cousins."_

_The leopard grunted, assuring the blue haired boy that it understood. As the two tried to heal the giant feline, they couldn't help but watch the monsters as they screeched in anger. Kamui didn't really get a good look at them until now but they looked like giant shadowy hippogriffs with red eyes. He had never heard of a hippogriff being that big. He kept healing until he heard the sky leopard growl. Kamui took it as a sign to stop on one leg and work on the other. They needed to hurry though, as they weren't sure how long the hippogriffs would be blinded until._

_It didn't take long before both the other leg and the wing were healed. They jumped onto the sky leopard, and just in time, for the hippogriffs had regained their sight. They managed to take off before the monsters noticed, but it wasn't long before they knew what was going on and followed after them. It wasn't much effort for them to catch up to the winged beings._

" _Can't you speak to animals?" Kamui called out to the blue haired boy, "Tell them to stop chasing us!"_

" _I can't!" the other male replied, "I cannot hear their voices! Even if I could, I don't think they would listen to me! They aren't ordinary hippogriffs! If they were, they wouldn't attack us like this! I think they might be monsters sent by the Void!"_

_At that moment, Kamui felt more terror than he ever did his entire life. He clinged to the blue haired male's back, crying. "We're gonna die! We're gonna die! We can't win against the Void's monsters! Even the knights of the Gold Winged Clan had trouble against them! It's all over!"_

" _It's not over," he heard the blue haired male speak, sounding scarily serious, "I won't let it be over. Not only do I need to get the sky leopard to his cousins... there's a mystery I need to uncover." He clinged onto his shirt, or at least what was under his shirt. "That's why we can't give up."_

_He then gave new directions to the sky leopard. They needed to stay near ground level if they needed to be safe, though it wouldn't last too long. As they flew back near the ground, the leopard let out a roar loud enough to shake the ground. As the hippogriffs also reached ground, some of the rocks on the mountain hit them, yet weren't very effective. Were they simply unbeatable?_

_But then, a miracle happened._

_Several more roars were heard from a distance. It was the nebulions;_ _white lions with dark purple sparkly manes. They heard the leoparrd's roar and had come to help. They hopped from rock to rock, getting closer until they were at the right distance to pounce on the hippogriffs._

_It was believed that the nebulions were one of the strongest felines in the Cloudlands, and it was clearly showing. While not enough to kill the hippogriffs, they were doing enough damage to injure them. However, the hippogriffs were clearly stronger and the nebulions were struggling against them._

_The sky leopard landed a few feet away, as it was asked by the blue haired boy to do so. The blue haired boy, forgetting all about his injured leg, fell down the moment he tried to stand. Kamui got off the leopard and tended to the other winged boy. "You idiot! Do you keep forgetting you're injured?!"_

" _That doesn't matter!" the blue haired male replied, "We need to help the nebulions!"_

" _But how?" asked the younger male, "The most I was able to do was blind them for a bit. Plus, you are injured so we shouldn't get close to them in your condition. We can't take them down like this!"_

_The blue haired male looked down at the ground they were standing on. There were plenty of sticks, many of which had pointy edges. It gave him an idea. He glided over the ground and collected as many sticks as he could._

" _What are you doing?!" Kamui cried out. But the other male didn't respond. He was too focused on the task at hand. Once he had collected as many sticks as he could, he put them all in a pile. He then looked down at Kamui's feet._

" _Kamui?" he got the younger male's attention, "I've noticed this since we met but never brought it up until now. Are your wings molting?"_

_The raven haired boy looked down at his feet, noticing the few gold feathers that had fallen from his wings. "I know what you're about to say. Yes, I'm an early bloomer. This isn't really the time to talk about my wings molting."_

" _Actually," the blue haired boy picked up the fallen feathers, "I was about to say that your molting couldn't have come at a better time." He gathered the feathers and put them in the pile among the sticks. He then began to take the items and began to make something with them. Kamui was agitated with the molting comment, but after he saw what the older male was creating, he became rather curious with what he had in mind. The blue haired boy kept at making until he created a bunch of the desired item he wanted to create; arrows. He passed one of them to Kamui._

" _These aren't the best made arrows, but I believe your slingshot should be able to fire them at the monsters," he told him._

_Red eyes widened. "Woah, you're not seriously suggesting I fire at those guys! Pebbles are one thing, but I can't fire arrows! I've never even used arrows on my slingshot before! Can you even fire arrows with a slingshot?! I didn't even think it was possible!"_

_The blue haired boy simply smiled. "I know you can do it," was all he said._

_Kamui gulped. It was clear that the other male was putting too much faith on him. Realizing he had no choice but to try, he pulled out his slingshot, put the arrow in his hand on, and began to aim at the monsters. He could see the hippogriffs and the nebulions were still fighting each other. He began to worry if he'd accidentally hit the nebulions. His hands began to tremble. He couldn't do this. There was no way he could do this!_

_He felt something warm wrap itself around his one hand holding the handle of the slingshot. The blue haired boy was kneeling down beside the younger male, smiling at him and trying to calm him down._

_It was then that Kamui remembered; the reason he was here. His confidence came back; allowing him to calm down and regain his control over the slingshot. Feeling sure that he had it perfectly aimed, he fired the arrow._

_The arrow succeeded in hitting one of the hippogriffs in the chest._

_The monster roared in pain from the arrow. However, it still didn't kill it. The other hippogriff then noticed the two winged beings in the distance and began charging towards them._

" _Crap!" Kamui shouted, "What do we do?!"_

_For a minute, there was only silence from the blue haired boy. When the younger male looked over, it was clear to see that he was thinking. Blue eyes widened._

" _I have an idea!" he remarked, grabbing another arrow and giving it to Kamui. The raven haired boy just stared at the arrow._

" _I'm not sure if you noticed, but the arrow didn't kill the other one!" he pointed out, "What makes you think it'll work here?!"_

" _Because we're gonna do something different with this arrow!" the blue haired male replied. "Aim the arrow but don't fire just yet!"_

_Kamui was not sure where he was going with it but decided to just go with it and did as the blue haired boy asked of him. The latter put his hand over the arrow used his magic on it. The arrow began to glow._

" _You sure this will work?!" the younger male asked._

" _I don't know!" the blue haired male replied honestly, "I just figured it would be best to try!"_

_Kamui scowled at the other male. "If we don't survive this, I'm not gonna let your soul rest peacefully."_

" _Just fire!"_

_Right as the hippogriff was within a short distance from them, Kamui fired the arrow. It hit! The hippogriff let out a loud screech in pain. Both Kamui and the blue haired boy worried that it didn't do much more than that, and that as soon as it regains itself, it will attack._

_But the remarkable happened._

_The light from the arrow begin to surround the hippogriff, causing it to disintegrate. Could light have some big effects on monsters sent by the Void?_

_The remaining hippogriff, that had recovered from the arrow shot and dealt with the nebulions, noticed its partner killed. It flew towards them, but it was no only faster than its partner, but it also managed to tackle the blue haired boy, pinning him to the ground. The leopard tried to rush to his rescue but was easily brought down by the monster. Kamui began to panic. If he didn't hurry, the other male was going to be killed by the monster. But how can he do that without the other's magic? He grabbed an arrow, equipped it to his slingshot, and aimed it. He didn't care if his light magic was apparently 'unstable'. He had to use it to save the older male. He tried to concentrate, focusing his magic on the arrow. He needed to get it to work._

_And luckily for him, it did. However, unlike with the blue haired male's magic, the light he produced had an intense heat that made it hard to hold on and he ended up letting go. The arrow, surrounded by Kamui's light magic, went flying through the air towards the hippogriff. While it seemed like it was still gonna hit the hippogriff, it looked like it was going to hit the throat rather than the chest. Would it be as effective? It hit!_

_But the results weren't what anyone expected, not even Kamui, who knew what his magic did._

_The reason why Kamui's magic was seen as unstable was because rather than producing a bright glow that could take any shape and, while can hurt, was not best in combat, his magic could only produce light in a straight line with intense heat that ended with destructive results. No one had ever gotten hurt from his magic luckily, but he could recall his parents having to constantly pay for any damages he may had caused with his magic while they were on trips, most commonly rooftops. With the exception to healing magic (which was a surprise for him), it would always produce the same results. He hoped one day, his magic would be stable enough to use._

_But maybe today was not that day._

_The sight traumatized Kamui. His magic was powerful enough to do that? Sure, he intended to kill the creature, and he had done just that, but he didn't want_ _**this** _ _. The blue haired boy stared up in horror at the hippogriff, now without its head, slowly fall to the side and releasing him before disintegrating like the other one. With that, the monsters were gone and everyone was safe._

_Despite that, however, Kamui was scared._

_He was scared of his own powers. Supposing he didn't use that on a monster sent by the Void and instead on another winged being. He screamed at the thought, and threw the slingshot away from him, wanting nothing to do with anything that would make him go all destructive again. But sadly, the feelings were still there. He wrapped his arms around himself and began to cry. He had enough. He wanted to go home._

_Suddenly, the clear twilight sky was covered in dark clouds. Cold raindrops began to fall, covering the entire mountain. Even so, Kamui kept crying, refusing to move, even with his body turning cold._

_Arms pulled him close to a warm chest. He knew that it belonged to the blue haired boy. He didn't care anymore about acting tough. He flung his arms around the other male, holding him tightly. He didn't care if he was acting like a little kid; he had gone through too much._

" _I wanna go home!" he cried, "I wanna go home!"_

_The blue haired boy just held him tighter. The younger male felt something warm drip on his shoulder along with the cold raindrops and heard slight sniffles. The blue haired boy was also crying. "I'm sorry, Kamui. I'm so sorry…"_

_The two stayed like that for a while. Eventually, Kamui blacked out; his last memory of this moment of him wishing this was all a dream._

_He woke up to the sound of thunder. It was clear he was no longer in that spot of the mountain in the rain, for he was in someplace dry and slightly warm. However, he was not home either. He wasn't sure where he was, but judging by the walls, floor, and ceiling, and the fact that he was resting near a bonfire, he had to assume he was in some sort of cave. But how did he get here?_

_He heard footsteps coming closer. The figure was revealed the moment they reached the light of the bonfire. It was the blue haired boy. He smiled._

" _Glad to see that you're awake," he told the raven haired boy. He sat down beside him. "A bad storm had started out while you were unconscious. This cave belongs to the nebulions, who have offered us to stay here until the storm clears as thank you for earlier."_

_Kamui frowned, remembering what happened with the hippogriffs. He sat up and held his legs in his arms. "I never want to go through that again…"_

_It was the blue haired boy's turn to frown. "Understandable," he replied, "No one should ever have to go through something like that, especially at your age. This whole ordeal also scared me."_

" _Ha! Yeah right!" Kamui scoffed, "You were pretty calm through most of it! I bet you've been through stuff like this dozens of times! That would explain why you were able to do all that no problem! Are you actually a knight or something? You look too wimpy to be one."_

" _Actually..." the blue haired boy smiled sheepishly, "This was all new to me too. I haven't even left the kingdom walls since I was eight, and even then I've only been at the base of Sunrise Valley. I most definitely am not a knight. I mean, I can't be a knight. I'm-!"_

_The raven haired male stared at him in awe before interrupting. "You've gotta be joking… You've never been to the Twilight Mountains? Or fought monster from the Void? You're not even a knight?! Then how were you able to do all that?!"_

" _When you're surrounded by books and swords, you pick up more knowledge than you'd ever think possible."_

_Kamui was about to question the whole 'surrounded by books and swords' thing, but decided not to. "So you really had no idea what you were doing… and the both of us were putting our lives on the line relying on that… and I ending up doing that…"_

" _Honestly, I had hoped you had listened to me and left to go get help." said the blue haired boy. "If I had known this would happen, I would've never brought you along no matter how much you insisted… but…" The blue haired boy looked over at Kamui with a smile. "It probably won't help… but a part of me is actually glad you didn't listen to me. Both the sky leopard and myself would've been dead if you didn't do what you did. Thank you, Kamui."_

_The younger male looked back down to the ground. He noticed the other male's leg was no longer bleeding. "I see you healed your wounds."_

_The blue haired male's smile grew melancholic. "Yeah… I tended to my wounds along with the sky leopard's and the nebulions's."_

" _So everyone's okay? No one has…" But Kamui could tell the moment the blue haired male's expression grew sullen that everything was not okay. "How bad?"_

" _... It was a good thing you were unconscious. If you had seen it-!"_

" _How bad?!"_

_The blue haired boy looked straight at the bonfire. "Almost a quarter of them were killed. The sight of the bodies… I can't tell you the details, it's too horrifying… even more than what you did to the monster…" He wrapped his arms around himself. "And the worst part of it… is that this is what the nebulions had to deal with every single day. There's only a few of them left in their pride. They would've been wiped out if we hadn't… And all those cubs; just seeing those little cubs find out their fathers are dead… dead… fighting monsters sent… by the Void…"_

_All that followed were loud cries, louder than the sound of the thunder outside. Kamui was unsure of what to do. He placed his hand on the blue haired boy's shoulder, resulting in the latter wrapping his arms around him, hiding his face in the younger male's shoulder. Like back when they were in the rain, he felt warm tears dripping on his shoulder. As much as he wanted to, he wasn't sure what to do to comfort the older male._

_On cue, the sky leopard showed up. It stared at both boys before walking over towards them. It snuggled its head against the blue haired boy's back, getting his attention. The latter noticed the winged feline, wiping his tears and trying to calm himself down as the leopard laid its head on the older winged male's lap. The blue haired male began to pet the leopard's head, causing it to purr._

" _I'm sorry," said the blue haired male, "I didn't mean to worry both of you. I was just reminded of… painful memories."_

_Kamui needed no other explanation. He had a feeling of what might've happened. If he had to guess, he had to assume the blue haired boy's father was among those that died during the war. He decided to put the subject to rest. He then noticed something at the entrance of the cave. Three nebulion cubs were standing there, observing the scene. The blue haired boy noticed them as well and smiled._

" _It's alright," he told them, "You can come in. Just be careful of the bonfire."_

_The cubs came in and immediately went over to Kamui. The younger of the winged males stared at them, wondering what they wanted as they stared back at him with curiosity. After staring at him a bit, they pounced on him, knocking him backwards. With him on his back, the cubs began to play, licking, playfully biting, all the things lion cubs love to do. Kamui tried to tell them to stop, but was unable to as he couldn't stop laughing with how ticklish they were. Though that didn't mean they didn't get rough at times, like how one of them bit one of Kamui's wings; a few feathers getting into its mouth due to the winged male's wings molting._

_It got to the point where the sky leopard roared, signalling the cubs to stop. One of the cubs roared, but towards the blue haired male, who blushed._

" _Um, Kamui…" the blue haired boy spoke up, "The cubs are asking if you want to come along with them to meet the rest of the pride. They want to personally thank you for saving them from the monsters. Though… strangely, they seem to think that you're my little brother or something."_

_Kamui was also baffled. In what way were they brothers? They looked nothing alike. Do winged people look the same in other creatures's eyes? But… at the same time, he couldn't help but think that having the blue haired boy as a brother wouldn't be such a bad thing. He smiled and began to follow the cubs but not before saying; "I'll be back soon, Big Bro!" causing the blue haired boy to stutter._

_He went to meet the rest of the nebulion pride. It probably would've been smart to ask the blue haired boy (who he decided to refer to as Big Bro) to come with him as a translator, however he knew that Big Bro was drained from everything and decided to just leave him alone. And it wasn't like he had no idea what they were saying, for their movements and sounds gave him an idea of what they were trying to convey. Seeing the pride in its small number and how the mood with them was rather melancholic, a revelation was born within him._

_He knew what he wanted to do with his life. He wanted to be there to protect both winged beings and wildlife alike. He wanted to fight the Void and put an end to the bloodshed._

_He wanted to become a knight._

_However, he never wanted to use his powers again. As effective as it was against Void's monsters, he never wanted to use his magic again by any means necessary unless it was healing magic. He decided that as he trained to become a knight, he would also learn another method of defeating them._

_After he met up with the pride, he was just about to meet with Big Bro when he noticed the storm had passed. Kamui went back to the cave to tell the older male when he noticed Big Bro standing outside with the sky leopard. They both gave their farewells to the felines and then headed back to Sunrise Valley._

_As they flew back, Kamui told Big Bro about his plan. "Just you wait Big Bro!" he remarked after explaining everything. I'm going to be an awesome knight! No, I'll be the best knight there is! I might even be better than Captain Misaki!"_

" _That's a rather big claim," Big Bro responded, "But I support you. I'm sure you'll truly be a great knight. Though I've gotta ask; how did calling me 'Big Bro' stick?"_

" _Why not?" Kamui asked, "You were absolutely amazing against those monsters! That gets you a lot of respect from me! And to think I thought you were a complete wimpy idiot who could only get himself killed."_

_Big Bro smiled sheepishly. "Thank you… I think?"_

" _I'm still surprised that you're not a knight," the younger male continued, "I would've thought the kingdom would beg you to become their knight. Well, you're not as good as what I'm going to become, but you would be the second best!"_

" _Well, there is a good reason for that. You see, I'm-!"_

_But Kamui just continued. "But seriously, you really were awesome! You possess some kind of amazing leadership, like you born to become one! And it's because of you I've found my calling. So…" Kamui gave the older male a big grin. "Thanks, Big Bro!"_

_The blue haired boy blushed. "Seriously, it's fine."_

_The two continued until they reached the gates of the kingdom. Big Bro stopped in his tracks; his expression turning nervous. Kamui stopped the moment Big Bro had stopped and looked at what the older was looking at. Standing there is a group of knights, conversing with each other. Among them was a beautiful woman with long lilac hair. She noticed the boys; her expression turning into a murderous glare._

_Kamui smirked and nudged Big Bro on the shoulder. "Big Bro, you didn't tell me your girlfriend was among the knights."_

_But Big Bro didn't seem focused on that. Only one word came out of his mouth, a name. "Misaki…"_

_That's when the younger male realized it. "Wait! That's Captain Misaki?! And you know her?! Like, actually know her?! You're in a relationship with her?!"_

_The blue haired boy blushed, shaking his head furiously. "What?! No! Misaki and I aren't like that! She's my…"_

_Before he could finish, the girl, Misaki, began to fly towards them. It was clear looking at him that Big Bro was both nervous and terrified. Kamui just stood there confused. Both skillful in many things and knowing Captain Misaki of all people? Who was Big Bro really?_

_He would find out the moment the lilac haired girl approached them._

" _There you are!" she shouted at Big Bro, "Where have you been?! The entire kingdom was in panic because of your little disappearing act!"_

_Big Bro smiled sheepishly and scratched his head. "Sorry about that, Misaki. Today just looked like a beautiful day to go flying and I decided to make use of the opportunity. And then this and that happened, and I met Kamui here, who by the way would love to become a knight and-!"_

" _Enough!" she silenced the blue haired male. She sighed. "Honestly, I had to send out a search party for you. It's a good thing you appeared as we were considering leaving the boundaries of Sunrise Valley to look for you. As the future king of the Gold Winged Clan, you need to be more responsible with your actions."_

_At that moment, the pieces fit into place and Kamui had a big realization. "Future king? …You're Prince Aichi?"_

_Big Bro laughed nervously. "That's what I've been trying to tell you."_

_He tried not to show it, but sadly failed as he began to panic in his mind. He had been throwing casual insults at him, talking to him like a regular person. Him! Prince Aichi!_

_Aichi seemed to pick up Kamui's panic and looked at Misaki. "Is it alright if you leave the two of us to talk? I promise I will go back in after we're done."_

_Misaki crossed her arms. She was unsure of whether or not to allow such a request. She sighed as she came to a decision. "I will be close by when you're done." With that said, she and the rest of the knights left, leaving Aichi and Kamui alone._

_Kamui was unsure of what to say. He had never felt so nervous to speak to someone that wasn't his own parents. But this was because he wasn't speaking to any normal person. He was speaking to Prince Aichi of all people. It was not long ago he found out about the blue haired boy's identity, but he had already forgotten how to speak to him._

_Aichi scratched his head. "Well, you now know." he spoke up, "I'm guessing since you do, you'll talk to me in a formal tone like everyone else..."_

" _Your Highness!" Kamui was finally able to let his voice out. "I'm so sorry for my behaviour back then! If I had known, I never would've said any of those things!"_

_This made the prince frown. "Of course…" Silence. "Kamui, just because you found out I'm a prince doesn't mean you should change the way you speak to me. Before being Prince of the Gold Winged Clan and future king, I am Aichi; the person you had just recently called Big Bro. I'm a person just like you."_

" _No, you aren't. You are someone expected to do great things. No one should try to speak casually to someone like you, for they aren't worthy to do so."_

_Aichi lowered his head. "No one, huh?"_

" _That's right!" Kamui replied, "That's why I will never address you casually again until I earn it!"_

_This caught the blue haired boy off guard. "Earn it? Kamui…"_

_Red eyes shined with confidence along with a smirk. "I told you, didn't I? I'm aiming to be the best knight in the Gold Winged Clan. And the best knight of the Gold Winged Clan doesn't have to follow the rules. When I become the best, that's when I truly have the right to not refer to you as Your Highness, but as Big Bro; a guy I respect."_

_It was clear that Kamui's words were only that of a childish dream. Even with high status, that doesn't mean one can easily talk to someone else of high status casually. Even so, Aichi couldn't help but smile from that vow. "I'll hold you to that." He clinged to the object under his shirt. "You know, you remind me of someone I met a long time ago. Like you, he was always shining with confidence, and it wouldn't take him long to get back up whenever something brought him down."_

" _Really?" Kamui asked, "What's his name?"_

_Aichi's smile turned melancholic. "That's the thing. I don't remember. I don't even remember his face. All I remember were some of the things he taught me and the feelings I had when I was with him. You reminded me of him so much, I wondered if the feelings I have with you are the same as the feelings I have with him." He shook his head. "But they aren't the same. Similar, yes, but… it's hard to describe it."_

_Kamui bowed. "Well, I hope you meet him again one day, Your Highness." He began to fly off. "The next time we meet, I will be an official knight. Until then!"_

And as promised, Kamui had not met Aichi again until after he became a knight. His parents were unsure of his decision, but in the end, they decided to support him in whatever he wanted to do. It was while he was in knight school when he first laid eyes on Princess Emi. Similar to his experience with Aichi, he only found out about her being a princess after he fell in love at first sight with her. He decided to change his goals a bit after that. He wanted to focus on serving Princess Emi before going on the path to becoming the best knight of the Gold Winged Clan. That way, he could win Princess Emi's heart and keep his vow to Prince Aichi. Though who knows? Maybe finding stuff of the Red Winged Clan could help him reach that goal faster. He kept emphasizing he was doing this for the queen and princess as well as the prince, but it wasn't just that. He was also doing this for himself.

After walking around a bit, Kamui decided it was time for him to go back and continue to help Naoki look up Red Winged Clan stuff. Just as he was about to walk off, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see who it was.

A loud, ear piercing scream rang through the kingdom that very moment.

XxXxX

Back at Handsome Trades, Naoki was still going through the archives, trying to find more Red Winged Clan stuff. Even if Kamui was not there to help, that didn't mean the auburn haired male was allowed to stop. The sooner they found something of importance, the sooner they could head back to the Kingdom of the Gold Winged Clan and be there for when Prince Aichi returns. He was not going to stop searching no matter what. He even heard a loud scream outside, but decided not to bother as it would detract from the time it would take to go through the archives.

He kept searching until he found something that caught his eye, and this time it was not a cookbook. It appeared to be some sort of scroll. He looked at the label; eyes widening as he realized what it was.

"Ah yeah! Now we're talking!" he cheered, "If everything else isn't convincing enough, this for sure has to be!"

He heard the door open behind him. "Hey, Naoki?"

It was Kamui's voice. Naoki smiled, still looking at the scroll. "Hey Kamui!" the older male replied, "Perfect timing! I found something that truly proves the Red Winged Clan existed!"

"Naoki?"

"Sure, it's nothing about the tool and all that, but even so, this is truly something spectacular!"

"Naoki, I'm afraid there's bad news…"

The auburn haired male laughed. "Come one, Kamui! Just what is it that has you so-!"

The moment he turned around, he too began to panic at the sight. Kamui stood there frowning, and behind him was…

"C-C-Captain Misaki!"

The lilac haired girl stood there; a look of murderous intent staring deep at her subordinate. She crossed her arms. "Really?" she asked, rather skeptical of the words she heard, "You found proof that the Red Winged Clan exists?"

Naoki looked down at the scroll then back to her. "Captain! I know it sounds hard to believe, but it's really true! The Red Winged Clan exists! Just look at this! This should be enough to prove it!"

Misaki snatched the scroll from his hands. "I have had enough with this! First His Highness and now you two! You know what? If you think this is the proof that the Rec Winged Clan is real, then I will look at it! But I assure you that this, along with the clan itself is…"

As she opened the scroll and read the contents, she found herself unable to comment or refute anything. What she was reading was a scroll that contained the Red Winged Clan's royal family tree. That in of itself doesn't necessarily mean anything, as it could be made up. But unlike a history book or any other form of written document, the royal family trees of each clan were written in very specific text, one that no one could mimic, no matter how hard they tried. This scroll had that text.

The Red Winged Clan really was real.

Misaki couldn't believe it. All this time, she denied it. How much Aichi tried to convince her that it was real. The two even had a fight about it, almost breaking off their relationship. And it was real this entire time. She almost broke down into tears. The many things that could've been avoided had she had not been so stubborn. The first thing she wanted to do was apologize to Aichi for not believing him. But would an apology truly suffice? She knew she would possibly have to do more to make it up to him.

There was a knock on the door. All three turned around to see Gouki standing there; his expression rather stern.

"You know, Kamui," he spoke up, "I gotta say I'm disappointed in you. How can you betray Nagisa like that? Not only did you bring this woman in, but there's another woman of a different clan at the door saying she's looking for you."

This was alarming. Kamui tried to tell Gouki that he had no romantic relationship with either Misaki or whoever this other girl was (though he also tried to explain that that there was nothing between him and Nagisa either but he knew the green winged male wouldn't listen), but who was this other girl and how did she know they were there. Misaki went out first with the boys following after her. They came out to the lobby to see Nagisa yelling at another woman. Both Naoki and Kamui had no idea who this woman was, but Misaki knew all too well.

"Why are you here?!"


	19. Chapter 18: Unusual Feelings

"No, no, no! It's all wrong!" Tsukiko shouted at the five boys.

It was back on working on the play and the blonde woman was coming off as really strict. Who could blame her though? Aichi needed some time to rest which took a couple of days and they had to get everything perfect by the deadline. As a result, she had been taking her frustration out on them. The boys were patent, though it took them all to make sure Morikawa wouldn't start yelling at her back, since they knew he would be the one to make the most trouble.

They were currently working on this scene where Draco and Lucia first meet after the dragon had turned human. The five were acting out the scene, but every time Tsukiko would stop them. Funny enough, it was always the part where Draco and Lucia dance.

"What's wrong, Miss Tsukiko?" Aichi asked, "Is the choreography really not that good?"

The blonde woman shook her head. "Don't worry, Aichi. The choreography is perfect. The dance is not my issue."

"Then what is it?" Kai asked, not hiding the irritation in his voice from having to do the scene over and over again.

Tsukiko looked at both males, observing them. She herself was trying to figure out what the scene needed. She tried many different things; lighting, where Miwa, Morikawa, and Izaki needed to stand during the scene, she even made Aichi wear a long puffy skirt and heels to help him play the part of a princess more. So what was missing to make this scene perfect?

Blue eyes sparkled in realization but resulted with her giving various expressions, as if she was going through an internal debate. She sighed before she looked back at the boys smiling, pretending she wasn't acting crazy a few seconds ago.

"I know what we're missing!" she replied, rushing over to the music player. She was going over the CDs that she had before switching out the disc that was already in there for another one. She began to play the disc; a beautiful slow song with a woman singing began playing. None of the boys knew what was going on. Tsukiko ran back to the two boys and began pushing them together until there was barely any distance between them.

"Toshiki, wrap your arms around Aichi's waist. Aichi, you wrap yours around his neck." she instructed.

The two teenagers were unsure of where the older woman was going with this, but decided to just go along; neither wanting to deal with her wrath. Tsukiko smiled as she looked at the two.

"Now, I want you to just keep your eyes on each other." she continued. "Now, perform a slow dance."

"A slow what?!" Both males replied simultaneously in shock, getting some laughs from the other boys watching.

Tsukiko placed her hands on her hips. "Don't tell me you both don't know what that is. It's not that different from a waltz." She called Miwa over to help her demonstrate. Mother and son did a slow dance for a minute before stopping, giving the cue for them to begin.

"You've gotta be kidding me…" Kai sighed, "In what way is this going to help with anything?"

"I figured it out." Tsukiko replied. "What was missing from the dance was the mood. Watching you two dance felt like two people just being forced to dance with no emotion behind it. You're supposed to be playing a pair of lovers! I need to feel like you both are madly in love with each other! I need to feel like there's a reason behind the dance!"

"That doesn't answer my question."

"What better way than one of the most romantic modern dances? Not to worry though. You'll be going back to the original routine once we've got that mood."

"But that's not what-!"

"Enough chatter!" Tsukiko shouted. "Dance!"

With no choice, the two began to partake in slow dancing, staring into each other's eyes while doing so. However, Aichi had a hard time keeping his eyes on Kai's as the whole thing was rather embarrassing, and was clearly shown on his red face.

"This isn't even dancing…" he muttered, not wanting Tsukiko to hear in fear of getting yelled at, "We're just swaying. It's nothing like a waltz. Is this really what humans call dancing?"

"You're sounding like an elitist in dancing." Kai whispered back.

The blue haired boy stuttered a bit as his face turned more red. "N-no! Not at all. It's just… this isn't the type of dancing I'm accustomed to…"

"Hey!" Tsukiko called to them. "Don't think I can't tell you're whispering over there!"

The two stopped talking and continued at the task at hand. Kai's gaze briefly looked down at the skirt and heels Aichi had to wear before looking back at cerulean hues.

"I'm sorry about this." Kai continued to whisper. "Are you okay with wearing that before the performance?"

Aichi giggled softly before subconsciously moving closer to Kai. "Don't worry about it. It does give me an idea on certain things I'll need to be aware playing a princess. Though it is a weird feeling. And it's not my first time wearing heels, although it's my first time wearing these types of heels."

The talk of heels reminded the brunet of something he noticed but never thought to bring up until now. "You were wearing heeled boots the night we first met."

"I was." said Aichi, "It's common of men in the Gold Winged Clan's royal family to wear high heeled boots to formal events; parties, meetings, and the like. It's not a requirement anywhere else though, especially in battle. Not that I can't fight with heels on, mind you, but I tend to be rather slow in my movements." He chuckled. "I remember the one time I immediately had a sword fighting lesson after my sister's birthday party and I wasn't able to find the chance to change back into my casual attire once the party was over. It was… an interesting experience. Let's just say it ended with winged unicorns rampaging through the streets of the kingdom. How is it that the waltz is easier to do in heels than sword fighting? To this day, I still can't figure it out."

Kai smirked. "You know, the more I learn more about you, the more you impress me."

The younger male looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Kai took a pause to collect his thoughts, "You carry around so much knowledge and seem to adapt to situations so quickly I find it hard to tell if you are real or a figment of my imagination."

Aichi chuckled again. "But I am real."

"I know." He subconsciously pulled the smaller male even closer. "That's what makes it even better."

It was weird for the human male to say things like this, but at that moment neither of them cared. Their chatter combined with the atmosphere of the dance created some unusual, but not unpleasant feelings. At that moment, Kai wanted to convey his thoughts, and his heart felt lighter because of it. Aichi stared deep into teal eyes with awe, mesmerized by the beauty of them and how much they conveyed that his words only scratched the surface of. Neither realized they were no longer dancing or the fact that they were so close to each other that their noses touched.

"Kai…" Aichi sighed, smiling, "I'm glad too… that you and everything else here isn't a dream; that I'm actually talking and laughing and… doing so many wonderful things with you… I…"

The brunet was not paying attention, for his thoughts and desires clouded his mind the moment he caught a whiff of an all too familiar scent. No matter what, he wanted, no, he needed Aichi to be his. He craved for Aichi; his body, his heart, his soul, he wanted all of it to belong to him. They were so close to each other, it wouldn't take long for him to claim the winged male as his…

"Okay, that's enough!" Tsukiko shouted, pushing the two males away from each other. Both males snapped out of their stupor and looked around, making eye contact with three stunned males and one flustered woman. They had no idea what had happened to make them show such expressions.

"Were you two not aware of it?" Izaki asked when the two males questioned them, "The two of you seemed like you were in your own little world."

"Totally!" said Miwa, "Had Mom not stepped in, you both might've been making out right there and then." A grin grew on his face as he began to snicker. "I'd say it worked a little too well to get the mood going."

Both Aichi and Kai's faces turned bright red at the thought. The two of them were about to kiss? They avoided eye contact with each other, flustered with the whole situation. The idea of sharing a kiss with Kai made Aichi's heart go aflutter. He would've wished for it to happen had they had been in a more private location with just the two of them. He knew he had fallen in love with the human male and he dared not lie to himself about it. And he could see it in those teal eyes and with the words spoken in his voice; Kai had feelings for him too. He couldn't contain his joy and had a big smile plastered on his flushed visage.

But Kai had different thoughts going through his head from the whole situation. He and Aichi almost kissed right in front of everyone. The mood was certainly there, for it made him spill his feelings onto the blue haired male. It was true; he fell in love with Aichi, but what happens after that? Whether he wished for it of not, he knew they could never be together. Surely the blue haired boy wouldn't want him if he knew the truth of what he was hiding. And besides, Aichi was a prince of an entire clan of winged beings and there was almost half a month left until the portal back to the Cloudlands opened up again. There was no way he would sacrifice everything just to be with Kai, especially with his heart keen on taking over as king one day, and Kai, being human, would not be able to step within the Cloudlands. This was why he never wanted to fall in love; to set your heart on something that could never last no matter how much you wished it.

That's why he had to make sure that line would never be crossed.

Both of their thoughts were interrupted by Morikawa. "I knew it!" the raven haired male exclaimed, "You thought you could fool the Great Morikawa, but sadly you are mistaken. It is clear as day on your faces. You too have a special relationship, far more intimate than that of acquaintances or friends! No, you too are madly in love with each other and the mood of the dance had awakened it within both of you!"

Everyone was caught off guard by Morikawa's claim. Who knew that he could pick up on something like this? It went to show that he wasn't a complete idiot. Even Kai couldn't help but be impressed albeit reluctantly with the fact that he could tell. He looked over at Aichi, who was at a loss for words but his expression couldn't lie. His face was red but there was a small smile. He looked back at Morikawa, who had a victorious smirk on his face. He knew that he was right. The brunet sighed.

"I'm sad to say that I have something to confess, as much as it pains me to say." Kai spoke up, turning all attention to him. "You see… I'm afraid that the mood of the dance really had me there. It made me think that I was actually in love with Aichi. It is, in fact, ideal to do this to convince us that we are playing lovers. My only concern is that we don't start thinking that these feelings are in any way real. It would only hurt both parties."

Everyone went silent from the brunet's words. Miwa silently groaned as he brought his hand close to his head for a slow facepalm. Tsukiko was rather shocked. She would never had thought Kai himself would…

"Yeah, I guess you're right Kai…"

All eyes had turned to Aichi. The blue haired boy had his face lowered; his bangs covering his eyes. But from the way he was trembling, they all could tell. Despite speaking in a calm voice, Kai's words had affected him. He looked up, forcing the biggest smile he could.

"You are right, Kai," he continued, "It would hurt both parties if it turned out to be a false love. It's a good thing you pointed it out now. I was almost convinced myself that we both had feelings for each other. I… I need to go use the bathroom…" And with that, he ran out of the theatre with lightning speed. Morikawa and Izaki chased after him, concerned for the blue haired boy.

"What the hell, Kai…" Miwa sighed, "What was the big idea?"

The brunet looked at his friend. "What do you mean? I only said the truth."

But the blond just glared at him. "That's a big lie and you know it! You know you have feelings for Aichi; I can see it! That moment where the two of you were dancing, I could feel it. We all could feel it! It wasn't an act on either end; you both are in love with each other-!"

"Miwa," Kai interrupted, giving a glare of his own, "I've had enough of you butting into my business. I choose what I want to do and what I don't want to do. Aichi and I will never be nothing more than acquaintances. Get it? I don't want anymore of this." It was Kai's turn to leave the theatre. Miwa was about to follow him when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and made eye contact with his mother.

"Let him go, Taishi." she told him. "He's made his decision."

"But Mom," Miwa interjected, "You're not seriously thinking it's for the best! I've been by his side for so long… this is the first time I've been seeing him be himself again. And it's because of Aichi! I know that being with Aichi is the happiest thing in his life. That's why…"

But the older woman shook her head. "Love does not equal happiness as much as we all wish it. I know all too well. And I believe Toshiki realizes that as well. Rather, I believe it is because he loves Aichi so much that he refuses to let them be together. Aichi is not like us. He still has a life back in the Cloudlands. Not like us who were cast away after _that incident_."

The young male lowered his head. "Yeah… there are some people in our clan who still can't get over it."

"You are referring to _him_?"

"I talked to him last night…" Miwa clenched his hands. "Once I told him what you told me to tell him… I'm worried. He might try to go after…"

"If that happens, you can stop him." Tsukiko assured him. "You know how to handle him better than I do."

Miwa was still worried, but his mother was right. He just had to make sure nothing bad happened. The two began to wait in silence for the others to come back, hoping things would improve.

XxXxX

Aichi stood in front of the sink in the bathroom, staring at his reflection in the mirror. The whole thing shocked him to the point where he couldn't even cry. Was what Kai said really the case? Were his feelings during the dance truly just him caught up in the mood? He knew without a doubt his feelings for the human male were real. Being close to him, his resolve to protect him, wanting to give birth to Kai's children; they were proof of his feelings. Were they only one-sided on his part?"

"Hey Aichi. You okay?"

The blue haired male turned around to see Morikawa and Izaki there. Judging by their expressions, it seemed like they were worried about him. Not wanting to trouble them, he plastered a fake smile on his face. "Don't worry! Everything's fine!"

"Yeah, right!" Morikawa scoffed, "I'm guessing no one's ever told you you are a terrible liar."

Aichi was surprised. He looked at them full of disappointment. "I was that obvious? ...Did Kai say anything?"

"We don't know." Izaki replied, "We rushed after you once you ran in here."

"I see…"

The raven haired male walked over to the smaller male and placed his hand on his shoulder. "I gotta say Aichi, I don't really get what you even see in a guy like Kai. He's stuck up and full of himself and thinks he's soooo great."

"Aren't you talking about yourself?" Izaki took a jab at his friend's expense.

Morikawa glared at him before looking back at Aichi. "I guess what I mean is… what is it you see in him?"

Aichi looked up at the ceiling as he began to think. "Well… it may be hard to believe, but he's a lot kinder than you think." he responded. "He's helped me out of trouble dozens of times. In fact, he took care of me when we first met and I had nowhere else to go. Though he's subtle about it, he tries to cheer me up whenever I get sad, and he encourages me to become better, even though I still have a long way to go. He's smart and strong brave and an excellent cook. Have you ever tried his cooking? It's nothing I've ever tasted before! He's so talented in a lot of things! And I can't deny how handsome he is. One could say he's like a prince in a fairy tale." He sighed. "I guess I should say he's a great actor too; convincing me into believing that he liked me in that way too…"

The two human males looked at each other before looking back at the blue haired boy. Morikawa smirked. "Well, I guess I, the Great Morikawa, can grace you with some info that can erase all your doubts. You aren't the only terrible liar around here."

Aichi looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

The raven haired male crossed his arms in confidence. "You don't realize it? Kai's a giant coward! You've seen how he always runs away whenever I challenge him, no doubt scared that I will defeat him if he accepts my challenge!"

Both Aichi and Izaki stayed quiet, not wanting to rain down on his parade and remind him on how Kai had always beaten him, especially Izaki who could see where Morikawa was getting at and didn't want to ruin the mood.

"Now, with that's said," Morikawa continued, "Who's to say he isn't a coward with relationships as well?"

Izaki walked over to the both of them. "Morikawa is actually right here." he spoke up. "Miwa is the only person I've seen get close to Kai and even then I think part of that is due to Miwa's mom serving as Kai's guardian. I've even heard rumours that Kai rejects everyone he gets close with. You're the only person I've heard of who Kai has treated kindly."

"He could just be helping me until I get home." said Aichi.

"You haven't asked anyone else to help you?"

The disguised winged male flinched. "My predicament is rather… unique. Kai was the only one who understood and was willing to help me.

"What kind of predicament?" Morikawa asked before gasping, "You're not actually a spy, are you?"

Aichi furiously shook his head, flustered at the idea. "You've got it wrong! You see… I come from a far away place that no one has ever heard of before and I can only get back through a special way."

"How did you get here in the first place?" it was Izaki's turn to ask.

"Complete accident. After that, I met Kai, and he's been letting me stay with him since." Aichi stopped in realization. "Thinking about it… I originally planned to find somewhere else to stay not wanting to bother him, but Kai insisted I stay with him."

Morikawa snapped his fingers, everything making perfect sense to him. "You see, what did I tell ya? Kai's just a coward. I knew it when I first saw him with you; he's completely smitten by you! As the wise master that I am, I suggest you confront him on it and get him to explain what's going on!"

Once again, Aichi shook his head. "No, I couldn't possibly…"

The raven haired male crossed his arms again. "So you're gonna be a complete coward too? If you don't confront him on it, you're never gonna know the truth. And supposing what he said is the truth; surely you'd want to return home with no regrets. If it were me, I would be more assertive. I would push my feelings across and show the one I love how I really feel. In fact, that's what I do towards the girl I love."

Izaki chuckled. "Yeah, in your dreams."

"Just because she always appears to me when I sleep doesn't mean she isn't real. I just have yet to meet her is all. Oh, my beautiful angel with golden hair…"

Once again, Aichi and Izaki remained silent as Morikawa acted out his fantasy. However, the blue haired boy knew what the human male had said did have some truth to it. He had yet to confess his feelings to the brunet. If he saw how serious Aichi was, maybe Kai would come out and spill how he truly felt. Full of resolve, Aichi thanked the two human males and the three of them joined back with the others. Kai had already returned earlier than them, not saying a word to anyone.

Once everyone was back, they cleaned up the stage area before heading out. Aichi also made sure he changed out of the skirt and heels and gave them back to Tsukiko, who in turn put them back backstage. Tsukiko offered to treat everyone to dinner for all their hard work and wouldn't take no for an answer despite Kai's protests. She treated everyone for pizza, which was quite a treat, especially for Aichi who had never tried it before. When he had the chance to try it, he found it very delicious, although it did not compare to the food Kai made.

The entire meal was not without conversation though. Morikawa once again challenged Kai to another competition, which the brunet straight up refused and left it at that. What resulted was a competition between Morikawa, Izaki, and Miwa, who were competing to see who could eat the most pizza. However, it didn't last long, for Tsukiko stopped them as not only did she warn them that eating too much pizza would be bad as they had more practice tomorrow, but she also refused to pay for more than she thought was suitable.

Once they ate, the group went their separate ways; Aichi and Kai on their way back to the apartment. The streets were empty with the exception of the two males, making it rather lonely but at the same time it was perfect for Aichi. As they made their way home, the winged male pondered on how he would bring up his feelings to the human male. He wanted to be straight to the point but he didn't want to come off as forceful. He wished not to hurt Kai's feelings after all. But then he began to wonder what counted as too forceful or not. It all stressed him out and in his frustration, he found himself staring at the dark night sky. He always found it interesting and yet sad to see no stars in the sky. It made him miss home again.

And it wasn't just that. It's almost been half a month since he first came to Earth and he had never gone out flying in fear of getting caught. Not only that, but he rarely let his wings out, only taking it out to keep them stretched so it wouldn't hurt once he returned home. How he itched for a chance to fly again. A part of him couldn't wait to return home for the chance to fly. That was if he wasn't sent back to the palace and locked up there.

Kai noticed that Aichi's attention was to the sky. Before he could stop himself, a question that had constantly plagued his mind came out into words. "Is flying truly that amazing?"

Aichi was surprised at the sudden question, but smiled anyway. "Oh yes! It's exhilarating!" he replied excitedly, "When you fly, it's a wonderful feeling. All your worries brush off you with the wind, and you feel a sense of freedom. It's like a weight is off your shoulders. I mean, you are flying after all. You aren't limited to where gravity pulls you. You have an interest in flying?"

It was Kai's turn to look up at the sky. "All my life… I've always found myself looking up at the sky and wishing to fly. Humans have ways of flying through airplanes, helicopters, hang gliders, balloons, but none of them have what I want through flying. It's like I want to fly like a bird; the freedom, the exhilaration, I want to feel all of that." He looked over at the blue haired male. "And then I see you; you who is born so lucky with wings. Admittedly, a part of me is jealous of you."

The smaller male stopped as he frowned. Noticing he was not beside him, the human male also stopped. "There is nothing to be jealous of." Aichi responded. "It's true that I can fly, but just because one has wings doesn't mean they can fly wherever and whenever they'd like. There are birds that are kept in cages, who can only look out and watch the other birds fly. Sure, the bird may find opportunities to get out and fly and finally find the freedom they search for, but it is only for a fleeting moment. For this past half a month, I've been having more freedom here than I have half of my life. And…" He began to blush. "I have you to thank for that, Kai."

"Thank me how?" Kai asked. "I haven't done anything that special."

Aichi shook his head. "That's not true! You've done more than necessary. You've made me feel welcome in a place I've never been in before and showered me with kindness. You've been protecting me and given me strength. And because of that, I…"

Kai's eyes widened as the blue haired boy started to close the distance between him. With trembling hands, he pushed Aichi back with enough force that wouldn't knock him down. "Today has been an exhausting day. We should hurry back to the apartment before it gets too late." He began to walk away after saying his piece.

This was the last straw for Aichi. He couldn't contain the rage that was boiling inside of him. He stayed still, clenching his hands into fists and shouted. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

The winged male's loud voice caught the older male off guard as he turned around, staring at the former's face red with anger. "Why are you yelling? You'll disturb everyone."

That did not help in the slightest. If anything, Aichi grew more angry. "Why I am yelling?! You really don't know why?! I want to know you, Kai!"

"What are you talking about? You already know me."

The blue haired male shook his head. "That's a lie! You can't fool me! I know you're hiding things from me! All this time, I thought that whenever we got closer but then drifted farther apart. I thought it was because I did something stupid, but I can clearly see that's not the case. You won't even let me say my piece; that I lo-!"

Kai's frustration was slowly growing with each sentence Aichi said. He eventually couldn't contain it and interrupted the younger male before he could say the important words. "Will you just shut up?!" he shouted back, stomping over towards the winged male. "Every day since you came into my life, you have done nothing but nag me of what I should or shouldn't do. Is it wrong that I don't want anyone close to me? Is it wrong that I just want to be left alone?!"

Aichi flinched the moment Kai yelled at him to his face, but made his best attempt to not show the hurt and fear on his face. "You're lying."

"Am I?" the human male huffed, "You know, you're right. You know nothing about me. You don't know anything about the shit I've been through since I was born. You've complained on how terrible your life is, but I'm sad to say, Your Highness, that you don't know what real hell is like."

"But if you'd just tell me, I'm sure I can-!"

"What? Make it all better? Talking does nothing! Talking does not make any problems go away! Get it through your thick skull!"

"I know talking will not solve everything!" Aichi cried, "But even so, I can't just stand by while you're in pain. Because I-!"

"Because you love me? Or because you are indebted to me? I thought you'd know the difference."

"It's true that I do feel indebted to you, but-!"

"You see? It's not love you feel! I'm sure if any other human had rescued you, you would feel the same towards them!"

"You guys look like you're in good terms."

Both males recognized the voice that called out to them and rapidly turned towards the owner simultaneously. Why did _he_ have to appear of all times? Standing there was Kyou with his arms crossed and a giant smirk on his face. Kai grabbed Aichi's wrist and the two were about to turn around and run away when Kyou's henchmen blocked their way.

The silver haired man chuckled. "I know better than to give you a way out."

"How do you always know where we are?" Aichi questioned them.

"We have our ways." Kyou replied.

"But Boss," the blond spoke up, "Isn't it always pure coincidence that we find them?"

That irritated the smaller male. "Shut up! They aren't supossed to know that!" He looked back at the winged prince and his human companion. "We'll keep finding you until you surrender and offer yourself up to King Ren."

They were trapped. Kyou and his men have surrounded them. If they didn't do something soon, Aichi will be forced to be their prisoner. Kai took on a fighting stance, causing Kyou and his men to take a fighting stance themselves, and he began to charge, tackling the silver haired male.

"Now Aichi!" the human male cried out, "Get out of here! I'll take care of them!"

"I can't leave you here!" Aichi cried.

Kai looked up at the blue haired male while pinning Kyou down. His eyes widened. "Look out!"

Aichi looked behind him to see Kyou's lackeys almost about to grab him. The winged prince ducked, causing the two bigger men to trip and fly over to where Kai was pinning Kyou, luckily not hitting them before they fell to the ground. He stood back up, staring at the sight in front of him.

"Get going Aichi!" Kai shouted, "You're only in the way!"

The blue haired boy was still hesitant to leave his companion behind. There was no guarantee he would succeed in taking them down. Sure, he may have taken down Kyou's men before, but that was when they underestimated Kai's strength, and even then Kyou himself was never a part of the battle. For all they know, Kyou could be very strong. Aichi was afraid that Kai could get killed. But the He saw Kyou's men slowly start to get up. He knew he had to make a choice soon.

He took a deep breath. "You better not die on me!" said Aichi. "We're still not done talking yet! We're continuing this after you beat them!"

"Just go!"

Aichi ran off, but he didn't go far. He ran to the nearest corner and hid behind it. Kyou's henchmen were about to follow them, but Kai grabbed both their legs and tripped them. However, that left him open for a punch in the face from Kyou. Kai was about to pay him back for that when he felt something restrain him. One of Kyou's henchmen had created a rope made of pure darkness and lassoed it around the human male. The Black Winged males were pushed to their limit. It was decided that all three would deal with the human first, and then once he is out of the way, they grab the prince.

It was three against one, and under a huge disadvantage, Kai was getting beat up. Aichi watched in horror as he saw the man he loved getting beaten up. His heart was filled with fear and pain. He could barely look at the traumatizing sight. With every punch and every kick that landed on the human male, Aichi was tempted to run out and offer himself up to save him. He knew it would be the only way, for he knew he wouldn't stand a chance otherwise.

They kept going at it until Kai had stopped moving underneath them. They knew their blows were not enough to kill him, but it was possible that he was knocked unconscious or all of his strength had left him. Kyou smirked.

"Looks like we got him, boys!" he laughed victoriously. "You see that, human?! That's what you get for getting yourself into the affairs of winged beings." The rope disappeared, considering there was no more use for it. Kyou grabbed onto a chunk of spiky brown hair and pulled Kai's face close so they were face to face. "I suggest you stay out of our way from now on."

With all said and done, the silver haired male let go and stood back up. He and his men were about to find Aichi when Kyou felt something grab his leg. He looked down, seeing the hand that belonged to the human male.

"You want to be beaten up some more?!" Kyou guffawed. "Are you a masochist or what?!"

But before they could do anything else, Kai planted one foot on the ground, twirled using the force of his other leg, and kicked the henchmen's legs, knocking them down while pulling Kyou down. He used that to help him stand back up. His entire body was burning from the pain, but it didn't compare to the burning in his heart, determined to take these guys down.

"What are you doing?!" Kyou shouted at his men, "Get him!"

The two black winged males complied, not wanting to go through the embarrassment of being defeated by a human again. They charged at the human male, one of them using the dark lasso again. However, Kai had learned better from the last time, and dodged the lasso. The battle was a repeat of the last battle they had, however this time while Kai's movements were quick and nimble, his attacks were more aggressive. Once again, it didn't take much for him to defeat them, even with their new tricks. After a one sided beating, the henchmen were lying on the ground defeated, and Kai was the victor.

The human male made eye contact with the silver haired male, violet eyes staring back at him with fear. Kai charged at Kyou with intense speed and grabbed at the latter's throat.

"W-what are you doing?!" Kyou cried, but that only made Kai tighten his grip. There was only one thing through Kai's mind at the moment; his lust for blood. Teal eyes turned gold and monstrous growls were rumbling in his throat. The temperature of his hand grew hotter around the silver haired male's throat, almost reaching the same heat as fire. With his hand slowly tightening and growing hotter, it would almost be enough to decapitate him.

But then an image of Aichi smiling appeared in Kai's mind, causing him to snap out of it. As gold eyes returned to teal and his hand returned to normal temperature, he was startled with what he was about to do and let go. Kyou fell to the ground, coughing up a storm. There was a deep red mark around his throat where Kai gripped it. Once he had finally recovered, the silver haired male looked up at the human with fearful eyes.

"What the fuck?!" he shouted. "What the fuck is wrong with you?! What kind of guy are you to have power like that?! You are a freak; a… a monster!" He ran over to his comrades, checking to see if they were alright. Kai stood there petrified at Kyou's words.

Monster… monster… monster…

A monster? He was a monster? No, he was not a monster! He was not a freak! He was no different from anyone else.

He's not different… He's not different… He's not different…

He is not different!

"Hey! Where did the prince go?!"

Kai snapped out of his thoughts when he heard that. He looked over at Kyou and his men, who had already recovered slightly from their beating, as they looked around. The human male too also looked around.

Aichi was nowhere to be seen.

Kyou burst out into hysterical laughter. "Wow! What a guy! Not long ago, he was hiding behind that wall watching us go at it, and then ditched at the last moment! And you want to protect such a wimp?! Hahaha!"

Kai glared at the silver haired man, but truth be told he was unsure of what had happened with Aichi. Sure, he told him to go somewhere safe, but he meant somewhere close by where they would meet up after the fight was over. Was it possible that the blue haired male ran away after seeing Kai…?!

"Come on, guys!" Kyou called out to his men. "That little prince isn't gonna get away from us so easily." The three left, leaving Kai to his thoughts.

The brunet let out a little disheartened chuckle. "Did you really run away seeing what I did? If so… I was right. I was right the whole time. Your feelings for me… they aren't…"

He found himself unable to finish that sentence before he felt a knot in his throat. He looked down at the ground with sorrowful hues. He wished not to feel pain like this; it was what he was trying to avoid in the first place. However… he could not lie about there being a part of him that wanted to be proven wrong; for Aichi to show that his feelings for him were genuine and that there was some hope of them being together for eternity.

But it was clear now; they truly weren't meant to be.

He was snapped out of his thoughts once again when he felt something scratching against his leg followed by loud meows. He looked down. It was the cat. He knelt down so they were almost eye level.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, patting the feline on his head.

The cat shook its head, trying to get the human male to stop petting it and meowed again before running over towards the corner where Aichi stood. Kai walked over, unsure of what the cat was doing. As soon as he made his way towards it, the cat grabbed his pant leg using its mouth and tried to tug at it before letting go and running further down the street.

Seeing the cat acting this way brought up a bad feeling in Kai. It was some sort of nagging feeling, telling him something he was afraid of being right about. But there was no way it was possible. He had been dealing with Kyou and his men the entire time. There was no way…

Kai's eyes began to widen in realization. What if Kyou was not the only threat after Aichi?

The feeling was growing bigger. Something told him he was on the nose. Worried for the winged prince's safety, Kai ran as fast as his legs could take him, following after the stray cat, who seemed to have an idea on where Aichi was. He could only hope he could make it to him before it was too late.

XxXxX

Darkness; that was the only thing that greeted him when he woke up. Aichi groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head as he tried to recollect the events that led to this moment. He remembered rehearsal, Kai saying something that upset him, Morikawa and Izaki's encouragements, confronting Kai, then Kyou and his men appeared…

He gasped. Kai! Where was he? Was he alright?! His last image of him before he blacked out was the brunet badly beaten up to the ground. It was the last thing he saw before-!

He remembered. He felt someone grab him from behind and covered his mouth with a tissue with a powerful scent. He was unsure on what that was, but it had successfully knocked him unconscious. But now the question was where he was now.

He stood up and looked around. No matter where he looked, all he saw was endless darkness. "Hello?" He called out. "Is anyone here?"

Deep voiced snickers greeted him. The blue haired boy was unsure with what was going on, and the idea of that terrified him. He had to get out of there fast.

But before he began to make a plan of escaping, a light turned on behind him. He turned around. Underneath the singular ray of light was a tall man sitting on something that looked like a throne. The man smirked at him.

"Welcome!" said the man. "How nice of you to greet me with your presence… Prince Aichi of the Gold Winged Clan."


	20. Chapter 19: The Duel

An old warehouse stood on an empty parking lot, long deserted by its original owners. The walls seemed to be crumbling down and covered in graffiti of different colours, either pictures of some anime character or writing of different varieties; mostly in Japanese but there were a few English words sprinkled here and there, and the windows were all boarded up. However, it seemed like someone had been here, or still was, as there were potato chip bags and ramune bottles on the ground. But that didn't matter, as there was only one thing Kai cared about as he stood in front of the tall building.

Aichi was taken there. He could feel it.

He looked down at the cat, for it was the one who lead him here. He knelt down and pet its head. "Thank you. I'll take it from here."

The cat stared at him with its green eyes, shining like a couple of emeralds. There was something in them that seemed satisfied. Before it turned to leave, something strange happened.

"Protect… boy…"

Kai's eyes widened as he watched the cat disappear in the distance. That didn't just happen, did it? It was impossible.

Did he just hear the cat speak for just a moment?

It caught him off guard, but as soon as he remembered where he was, he chose to ignore it for now and focus at the task at hand. He needed to rescue Aichi. As for how, he hadn't the foggiest. He didn't know who it was that took him or why they would want him, but whoever they were, he knew if would be best not to underestimate them. And that meant entering from the front door would be a bad idea.

He searched around the warehouse, searching for another way in that would be less conspicuous. It didn't take long before he found an open window that wasn't boarded up big enough for him to crawl through. There was just one problem with this window and it was a really big problem.

It was really high up.

If he wanted to get in, he would need to find some things strong enough for him to climb on in order to reach the window. He had to hurry though. Who knew what could be happening to Aichi while he's trying to get in.

XxXxX

"Welcome! How nice of you to greet me with your presence… Prince Aichi of the Gold Winged Clan."

Aichi's eyes widened. This man knew who he was? Not only that, he was speaking in the winged language. He put his guard up. The man chuckled.

"Now, now!" said the man, "There is no need to be so cautious. I just wanted to have a little chat with you. Please…" A couple of more men appeared from within the darkness, carrying a chair. "Have a seat."

The blue haired boy hesitated at first, but as he looked over at the other men, who appeared rather muscular and terrifying, he knew it would not be best to cross them. He would comply for now and hope they would let him leave as soon as they get what they want from him. That was if they will even let him leave. He'll try to force his way out if he'll have to in that case. He was worried about Kai and wanted to return to him as soon as possible.

He sat down and examined the man in front of him. He didn't look much older than him with black hair and violet eyes which contained a rather sadistic nature. His wings were not out, thus made it hard to tell what clan he was from. He was definitely not from the Gold Winged Clan, that was for sure. Aichi gulped, truly hoping nothing bad would happen to him here, but tried to remain calm so he could try to get out of there quicker.

"Who are you?" Aichi asked in the calmest way possible, returning to his native tongue. How weird it was to return to speaking it since he had spent so long speaking Japanese, but it was also refreshing at the same time. "Are you with the Black Winged Clan? The same as Kyou?"

The man burst out in laughter, resulting in more voices in the darkness roaring with laughter. Aichi tried to look around but it was so dark he couldn't see anything other than the man in front of him and the two men standing on both sides of him. Just how many people were here?

"Please don't compare me to those losers." He replied once everything had calmed down, "They'd wish to have me in their clan. But no, I'm not from the Black Winged Clan."

"Then state your clan! I wish to know if you are my ally or my enemy!"

The man laughed again. "You are absolutely hilarious!" He got up from the throne and walked over to the young prince. The moment he reached him, he grabbed Aichi's chin and tilted it up so they made perfect eye contact. "What an expression on your pretty little face! Tell me; how many has this precious face seduced?"

"What do you mean by seduce?"

"Don't play dumb!" the man pulled Aichi closer. "How else would you be able to survive down here so easily while the rest of us have had to work our asses off just to get a decent meal for years?!"

Aichi grew terrified at the man. He knew it wouldn't be wise to stay here much longer. Since this man knew who he was, he had no reason to hide his powers. He held his hand up in front of the man's face, using enough light magic to blind him temporarily. The man groaned in pain, holding his hands close to his eyes, creating an opening for Aichi. The blue haired boy got out of the chair and, creating a ball of light to help him see through the darkness, made a break for it. He ran as fast as his legs could take him through this dark room, which was bigger than he thought. However with every turn, more men blocked his way, scarier than the last.

By the time he realized it, he was trapped, surrounded by these who he didn't know were or how many. The lights turned on, revealing his surroundings. He was surrounded by ten big, scary men whom he knew he couldn't fight, especially unarmed.

"What a naughty boy you are, Your Highness. We haven't even finished our talk and yet you tried to excuse yourself without permission."

Aichi looked up above him, seeing the man flying above him. The group of scary men opened their circle a bit, giving the man, who the blue haired boy had already guessed to be the leader, some room to land, standing in front of the prince. Upon getting a proper look at him, Aichi's eyes widened.

His wings…! They were…!

XxXxX

After searching every nook and cranny around the parking lot, a ladder of boxes and barrels was finally made for Kai to climb on. With it, he should be able to reach the window and get inside. He took a deep breath. He hoped Aichi was still safe. Ready to go, he began climbing the ladder he made.

However, things were not going to go smoothly for the human male, for the boxes and barrels were not strong enough to carry his weight and ended up toppled over. Kai subconsciously reached for the wall, despite there not being anything to grab onto.

And that's when the weirdest thing began to happen.

As he reached for the wall, his nails, which were of normal length for a boy, grew longer and dug themselves within the warehouse wall. Kai panted as he stared up at his hands with widened hues. How was that possible? There was no way nails could grow that long so quickly. Not only that, how were they sharp enough to dig through steel? The whole concept began to creep him out.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the door open followed by some voices. Kai cursed in his thoughts. They probably heard the boxes and barrels fall. No longer hesitating, Kai began to climb the wall as quickly as he could with the support of his now long nails and managed to climb through the window before two men made it to the pile of boxes and barrels. He couldn't understand what they were saying, but he assumed they didn't see him as they walked away shortly after. Kai looked down at his hands, which his nails slowly reverted back to their original length. He had no idea what was going on.

Once again, his thoughts were interrupted by voices. He crawled in the direction of the voices, using the darkness he was in as a cover. The voices led him to a spot inside with light. Since Kai was on a landing, the voices came from below. He looked down to see a group of men. When he looked closer, he saw the group was surrounding Aichi. He was right; Aichi was in trouble. He had to do something to help, but despite being able to take on three winged beings, he knew he wouldn't stand a chance against all those men at once. One of them had wings, which had to mean all of them were winged beings. His eyes widened among closer inspection at the man with his wings out. His wings were…!

At that moment, Aichi said the very thing Kai realized (though Kai himself didn't realize as he couldn't understand the winged language). "Your wings… You are from the Red Winged Clan!"

The leader of the gang huffed. "No shit, Sherlock!"

Aichi couldn't believe it. Standing in front of him was someone from the Red Winged Clan. Did that mean all the other guys are members of the Red Winged Clan? He couldn't contain the excitement he was feeling. All this time, he had been searching for the Red Winged Clan, wanting to prove that they were real, and he had now found one in the flesh, or rather he was taken to one. His curiosity of the Red Winged Clan overwrote the rest of Aichi's thoughts.

"There are so many things I want to ask you!" he spoke up, "I heard that the Red Winged Clan had been exiled, but I never thought they had been exiled to Earth!"

The leader, who was already frowning, began to glare at the young prince. "You never thought… or you never cared?"

The blue haired boy was shocked by the red winged man's claim. "Why would I not care? You are the Red Winged Clan; one of the six clans! You are meant to protect Earth alongside the rest of the clans! I'm sure that whatever the issue was that lead to-!"

But before he could finish, everyone around him started roaring with laughter once again. Aichi had no idea what he said that was so funny. At the same time, their laughter provided a bad vibe; as if the prince truly wasn't safe around them.

"That's a good joke, Your Highness!" one of the men guffawed, "You know very well the reason why the Red Winged Clan was exiled!"

Aichi was afraid to open his mouth. The bad vibe was starting to grow. Sadly, his curiosity was far too great, and he couldn't stop himself from voicing his thoughts. "It was because of the creation of 'the tool', right?"

At that moment, everything fell dead silent. No laughter, no yelling, nothing. All there was was the mixture of expressions from the Red Winged Clan. Shock, anger, disappointment, complete rage; Aichi could feel them all targeting him. The leader of the Red Winged Clan grabbed the blue haired boy's arm and yanked him closer to him.

"Sorry to ask this, Your Highness," he began, his voice contradictory to his words, "But am I to be under the impression that you do not remember what happened?"

This confused Aichi. "What do you mean? Is it something I should know?"

The leader's eye twitched upon hearing Aichi's response and he reacted with tightening his grip on the blue haired male's arm, receiving a pained yelp from him. "You've gotta be kidding! Do you really not remember? How can you forget the very incident that you are responsible for?!" He threw Aichi to the ground; the gold winged prince crying in pain.

Kai, who had been watching from the shadows, grew furious with the way the red winged fellow was treating Aichi. He was almost tempted to storm out there and kick his butt. However, reason came to him and he stopped himself from doing something stupid albeit barely. He hated how helpless he was in this situation. What he wouldn't give to be able to swoop in there and whisk the gold winged male to safety. Instead, he could do nothing but watch as the blue haired boy was getting beaten up.

Back to Aichi, who had been affected by the leader's words. _He_ was responsible for the Red Winged Clan's exile?! That couldn't be right! How could Aichi be the one to send the Red Winged Clan to be exiled? He had never even met the Red Winged Clan before this point!

But looking at the expressions on their faces, he had doubt that they would listen to reason. One of the men pulled Aichi up from the ground. "To think the prince of the Gold Winged Clan himself would show up here on Earth! It surely is a lucky break for us!"

"I'll say!" another one of them replied, holding the prince's chin up so the latter was looking up at him, "Though no one told me how much he looks like a girl. I kinda feel bad for the Gold Winged Clan for having such a girly looking boy as their future king."

"Yeah, you said it!" a third man responded. "So, what should we do to him?"

"I say we turn him into our errand boy!"

"You kidding? Imagine if we sold him to be entertainment to the public!"

"Nah! If the little prince keeps his wings hidden, no one would believe us. We would be better off if we made him our slave."

"I agree! And with how much he looks like a girl, we could have him parade around in a maid outfit and make a fool of himself!"

"Yeah! And he would do things like cook our meals and give us backrubs."

"Eh, I'm not sure about the cooking part. With how much he's probably been pampered, I doubt he even knows how to cook."

As the men continued throwing ideas, Aichi could only stand there terrified. He wanted to go home. He wanted to see his friends and family again.

He wanted to see Kai again!

"Enough!" the leader of the gang of red wings shouted. All the men stopped what they were doing and looked over at their leader, ready to listen. The leader cleared his throat. "I have a better idea. All those suggestions you've thrown out are good, but we need to give His Highness a fighting chance. It would be cruel otherwise, now wouldn't it?"

He received a lot of nods from his men. He continued. "So here's what I propose; we will follow the lifetime tradition of the Red Winged Clan when two people are at odds with each other." He made eye contact with the blue haired boy. "Prince Aichi of the Gold Winged Clan! I challenge you to a duel!"

Aichi's eyes widened. A duel? This could be his chance out of this mess, but he had no idea how duels work in the Red Winged Clan. As much as he wanted to… no, he had to at any cost, no matter the risk.

The leader seemed to notice the blue haired male's discomfort. "Before you decide, I will explain the rules of the duel." said the leader. "We begin by choosing our weapon of choice. Since duels in the Red Winged Clan don't condone for anyone to get injured during them, as we respect our fellow man, we will choose from non lethal weapons, so don't worry about hurting anyone. So long as it is not used to cause bodily harm, magic is allowed. Flying is also allowed so long as the person remains within the bounds of the arena, but given we are inside a warehouse, you don't have to worry about that. We keep fighting until one person can't keep fighting. Whoever remains is the winner."

With the rules explained, Aichi had a better understanding of the duel. Despite it being combat based, the duel seemed to be more about endurance. The winner is the one who still has the energy to fight. Even if he wasn't told the rules, he had already made his decision.

"I accept!"

The two stood on opposite sides of the warehouse, waiting as they each chose their respective weapons. As Aichi began to choose his weapon, the man that brought in the weapons subtly tried to get the young prince's attention. Aichi noticed and moved closer as the man spoke softly so as not to be heard by everyone else.

"If I were you, I would just surrender." he told the blue haired male. "Jun is the strongest out of all of us. No one here has ever landed a hit on him let alone defeat him. He'll crush you."

Aichi smiled at him. "Thank you very much for your concern. However…" The prince grabbed one of the weapons presented to him; a toy sword with a foam blade. "I can't back down from this."

With that said, he turned towards the leader, who he had learned is named Jun. Jun had already chosen his weapon of choice; a long chain. He crossed his arms as both he and Aichi got to their starting positions.

"He's right, you know." Jun called out to the blue haired boy. "I'm not a guy you should be underestimating. I'm not just the strongest here, I'm unbeatable. I know I said this was to give you a fighting chance, but let's face it. You have no chance."

Aichi did not say a word. His only response was swinging the toy sword in the air with a determined expression. Jun couldn't help but laugh with joy at the blue haired boy.

"You're quite the guy!" he continued. "In any other circumstance, I'd like us to hang out and become friends. But…" He readied his chain. "Sadly, I'm afraid that's not possible. Prepare to taste defeat!"

After a countdown, the duel began. Jun made the first move, swinging his chain to reach Aichi, but the blue haired boy dodged it by freeing his wings and flew up into the air. Aichi stayed in the defensive, either dodging or shielding the attacks with the toy sword while Jun kept throwing attacks at him. While staying on the defensive, the prince analyzed the situation. Jun was fighting with a chain, using it by swinging and whipping. It was a decently sized chain, and due to Aichi's personal choice of weapon; the sword, he was at a disadvantage weapon wise. Chances were that if Aichi switched to offensive and tried charging at him, with the distance the chain could reach (Aichi checked by increasing the distance between them while still keeping his guard), he would be attacked before he could even land a single blow.

But he may be luckier in the magic department. According to the rules, magic is allowed so long as it isn't used to harm the opponent. Light magic, while can hurt depending on how it's used, is the weakest form of magic among the clans. Meanwhile, if what books about the Red Winged Clan said was true, the Red Winged Clan used fire magic. It makes the magic rule sound strange then, as he can't think of an effective way fire magic could be used without hurting people. But if the rule is there, a way has to exist. Nonetheless, he couldn't see how fire magic could work in this particular battle, so it appeared that Aichi had the advantage in terms of magic.

But endurance was the biggest focus of this duel. As he kept guarding and dodging Jun's attacks, the red winged male kept taunting him, saying things like the prince didn't stand a chance against him and to prepare being the Red Winged Clan's slave for eternity. Aichi almost fell for it before he stopped himself. He needed to keep calm and remain level headed. He remembered a lesson from his sword fighting instructor; one must always be calm in battle. A panicked or agitated mind will only tire one out more.

In that case, Jun truly was a tricky opponent to beat.

Not only did he have the advantage in combat and defense due to his choice of weapon, he was also very cunning. Aichi could feel him trying to get into his head; to psych him out. But Aichi would not let him do that. He will keep calm and win this duel, then he'll leave and find Kai.

He will succeed no matter what.

As the duel continued, Kai found it hard to contain himself any longer, using the last of his willpower to hold himself back. He didn't like the idea of seeing Aichi get hurt and with them speaking the winged language, he had no idea what was going on. However, he felt that he needed to trust Aichi here. He didn't know what this battle was about, but he had faith that the blue haired boy would win. So he continued to hide longer, ready to jump out at the slightest chance of the gold winged male being in danger.

After minutes of analysing, Aichi had figured out a strategy. It would be a little risky, but he didn't have time to rethink it. If he didn't do anything soon, his own endurance would run out first. The moment Jun began his next attack, Aichi dodged it by swerving to the side and dashing towards the red winged male, landing a strike with his sword. Everyone watching couldn't believe what they saw. Aichi managed to land a hit on him. Jun, the strongest of the Red Winged Clan who had never been hit once in a duel against his companions, had been hit once by a boy who didn't look that strong physically. Something within Jun snapped. To think a pathetic looking prince like Aichi could land a hit on him. Even so, he was going to win this duel. How he was going to enjoy breaking the young prince once he wins.

Jun began to dash towards Aichi. The blue haired boy was stunned by the sudden movement from his opponent as he didn't think he would attempt getting in close combat, but quickly recovered and raised his guard, unsure of what the raven haired male's plan was. But Jun was anticipating Aichi's guard. The moment he raised his sword to protect himself, Jun gripped the foam blade and used his fire magic on it, setting it on fire. Upon contact of the intense heat, Aichi dropped the sword, leaving him open for Jun to grab his chain and while holding both ends, taking one of Aichi's arms and pulling him down until they reached the ground, locking him into a hold.

"What gives?!" Aichi cried out. "Isn't it wrong to burn someone's weapon?"

Jun chuckled. "My dear prince. There aren't any rules that say you can't burn your opponent's weapon."

This was not a good sign for Aichi. He needed to come up with a countermeasure soon or he would be done for. He examined his surroundings, looking for something to help him. Near one of the men, and he had to be the biggest of them all of course, was the bin from earlier that contained the weapons. He also noticed from quite a distance away, there was a breaker. He remembered he had seen some of them on TV and learned what they are just from seeing how it was used on those shows. He had an idea. Because of the hold, he was unable to move his arms or legs.

But there was a part of him that could still move.

One wing was pinned down with the rest of his body, but the other one was able to move fine, and with that wing, he gently flapped it over and over, tickling Jun's face with his feathers. The raven haired male began to laugh, although was able to keep his grip on the gold winged prince. But eventually, the tickling became too much, especially on his nose, and he sneezed, letting go of Aichi for a brief moment. Aichi used that brief moment to escape his grip and shoot a ball of light at the breaker. It hit successfully, and although not strong enough to injure someone, it was enough to cause a power outage.

Everyone in the warehouse minus Aichi panicked upon there being a blackout. If didn't last long though, and as quickly as they stopped freaking out, all the red wings conjured a fireball each to make up the lack of lighting. With there being light once again, everyone was shocked at the revelation before them.

Aichi had disappeared.

"Where did he go?!" one of the men cried out.

"Did he take this chance to escape?" another one asked.

"Impossible! We would've heard the door open and he couldn't have gotten out in that short amount of time!" a third guy replied.

If Jun wasn't irritated before, he certainly was now. Just how hard was it to take down one puny gold winged prince? He began to look around frantically. There was no way the blue haired male would be a coward and run off from the duel.

And he was right. Unbeknownst to the red wings, Aichi was hiding close to the ceiling within the darkness. He had taken note how weak the lights in the warehouse were. While they were strong enough to reach the ground and light a certain area, it wasn't able to light everywhere in the room. And he knew the red wings would use their fire magic to light up the room after the blackout began. Since everyone is close to the ground and considering hos high up the ceiling is in comparison, the light of their flames would not reach him while he's up there. But this was a temporary solution. He needed to hurry to set out what he was doing before Jun finds him or the lights come back on if the red wings hurry to fix the breaker. Being fast yet careful, the blue haired boy glided until he was right above the bin, then swooped down and grabbed another weapon; a plastic sword this time.

The red wings were once again caught on guard from the sudden action and they all faced Aichi, who had landed in front of Jun. Jun didn't hesitate to make his next attack with the chain but Aichi guarded it using the plastic sword.

"You dirty cheat!" Jun yelled, "You can't grab yourself another weapon after your weapon of choice is destroyed!"

"Really?" Aichi asked, a smirk on his face. "Nothing in the rules you told me says you can't get a new weapon if the situation calls for it. And I wouldn't think you would neglect to tell me any more rules of the duel to make sure I lost. Rather, I want to say you judged me by my appearance and assumed I would be an easy victory for you. Am I right?"

That was the last straw. Jun charged up to Aichi and began swinging the chain around, however Aichi was able to block every single attack. If was clear; the red winged male was starting to get aggressive. Aichi didn't have to do much except guard as Jun continued to attack.

It didn't take long for the aggressive attacks to start slowing down. The longer it went, the more out of breath Jun became. He eventually couldn't hold out much longer and after swinging the chain one more time just to have it blocked like all the other attacks, he fell to his knees, unable to fight anymore. Aichi gave his shoulder a light tap with the sword, and with that the duel was over.

Silence flooded the entire warehouse as no one could utter a word at what just happened. Aichi had won the duel. From above, Kai smiled as he let out a sigh of relief. He was glad he believed in Aichi and let him take the battle on on his own. This situation truly proved that he didn't need to rush to the blue haired boy's rescue every time, for there were times he could take care of himself. In fact, he couldn't help but find him a little cool. His heart thumped rapidly as he stared at him, unaware that despite him not wanting to, he was falling more and more in love with the winged prince.

Everyone jumped upon the sudden sound of laughter, breaking the silence. Jun could not contain himself as he laughed, making everyone around him wonder if he was alright. He looked up at the blue haired male before him.

"Would ya look at that! I lost!" he exclaimed in a rather mocking tone. "You're now free to go! How does it feel to win against me?"

Aichi only stared at him with a disapproving look. He didn't like Jun's attitude towards him and he wanted to know why. He dropped the plastic sword.

"Please, answer me this." the blue haired boy spoke up. "What did you mean when you said I was the reason for your exile? I had heard that the Red Winged Clan had created something called 'the tool' and that had lead to the clan's exile. Is it not true?"

The room was filled with silence once again. It didn't last as long as before though, for one of Jun's men, a skinny man with spiky blond hair with red highlights and piercings all over his face, stormed in front of the group and shouts to get everyone's attention.

"How dare you rub salt on our wounds!" he yelled angrily at the prince. "I refuse to believe that you have forgotten the event from ten years ago; how we were sent here forced to survive with very little!"

The blue haired boy's widened. Ten years ago? It couldn't be. Did the Red Winged Clan's exile share some sort of connection to his past and _the incident_ that everyone refuses to tell him? Before he could say anything, the guy with piercings conjured up a fireball in his hand and threw it at Aichi's direction.

Upon seeing the fireball, reason left him as Kai jumped off the landing, landing perfectly on his feet without breaking any bones despite how high he jumped and rushed towards the gold winged prince. But even at his fastest running speed, he wouldn't be fast enough to reach him. He couldn't stop though. He refused to let Aichi burn to death. "AICHI!"

Silence filled the warehouse for a third time as everyone stared in shock after the fireball hit something. The adrenaline from earlier left Kai's body as he collapsed to his knees, still staring at the sight right before him like everyone else. Everyone couldn't believe what had just happened, especially Aichi.

Standing in between Aichi and the guy was piercings was another red winged being, presumably male judging by his figure, dressed with a hood and a red dragon mask carrying a shield which still had remnants of flames from the fireball on it. Neither he nor Kai knew who this person was or why he did what he did, but they were both thankful he had showed up when he did. As he let out a sigh of relief, Aichi noticed Kai and immediately rushed over to him with no one trying to stop him.

"Kai!" he cried as soon as he reached him, falling to his knees so they were the same eye level, gripping the brunet's shoulders. "Are you alright? How did you get here?"

The human male looked up at the blue haired boy. "You disappeared without a trace. I defeated those guys after you and you were suddenly gone."

Aichi examined his companion's face; a black eye on his left and a swollen cheek on the right with a few bruises here and there. The young prince could not stop the tears from welling up and hid his face on the older boy's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Kai. All that, because of…"

Kai rested his hand on Aichi's head and smiled. "Don't cry. It was worth seeing you win against that red winged guy."

Glassy cerulean and teal met as Aichi lifted his head to look up at the brunet. "Kai…"

"You were amazing." was all the human replied back with, receiving a small smile back.

Their sweet moment was interrupted by a scream. Kai and Aichi snapped their heads in the direction of the scream, seeing the masked guy from earlier slowly making his way to the guy with piercings. The guy with piercings, who was the one screaming, appeared to be apologizing with tears in his eyes. Who was this masked figure to garner such a reaction from him.

"Stop!" Jun cried out. "Don't hurt him! As leader, I take full responsibility for what happened."

Aichi couldn't bear to see the sight that was going on. "Please wait!" he shouted. "It is my fault! Even though I don't know how, it's clear that I had said something that had offended him!"

The masked man faced Aichi; the dragon face appearing menacing. "You do not need to apologize, Prince Aichi." The masked man replied with a distorted voice (Though Kai himself couldn't understand the winged language, he noted how the masked figure spoke with a voice filter). "Jun and his men followed against orders and treated you with ill intent."

Aichi looked over at Jun. "Are you not the ruler of the Red Winged Clan?"

Jun replied with a chuckle. "If I were royalty, I would have nicer things, wouldn't I?"

"So then who is the ruler of the Red Winged Clan? If I talk with them, maybe we could-!"

"The king and queen of the Red Winged Clan have been dead for a long time."

"Isn't there an heir?"

The raven haired male let out another chuckle, making Aichi rather uncomfortable. "There isn't."

This confused the blue haired male. "What do you mean? How can your clan thrive without a ruler or heir?"

"Prince Aichi." The masked man spoke up. "Here on Earth, we are not the Red Winged Clan. We are people trying to survive another day. Even if we had a ruler or heir, human customs and the like are different from the winged people. You yourself have experienced this firsthand."

Aichi's eyes narrowed as he looked at the masked figure. "Then tell me; why are you here hiding your face? Who are you to the rest of the red wings here? That's very suspicious."

"Yeah! How very suspicious!" Jun replied with a playful smirk.

The masked figure appeared unfazed, though it was hard to tell with the mask. He continued. "Supposing we did have an heir to the Red Winged Clan and you spoke with him, what will that achieve? Would it benefit anyone?"

The young prince lowered his head. "I figured if we talked and I have a grasp of what's going on, I could possibly try to…"

"To what? To lift our exile and be given the right to return to the Cloudlands? You think that would be enough to fix the damage you've caused?!" Jun asked; a roar of laughter from him and the rest of the red wings minus the masked man following.

With everything that had built up, Aichi had finally snapped. "What is it that I've done?!" he yelled. "Every attempt I've asked, you would avoid the subject! You keep saying I should know it, but I don't! Just tell me!"

Kai stood up, glaring at the red wings. He couldn't understand the winged language but he could tell what they were talking about was upsetting Aichi. He refused to sit idly by as they hurt the blue haired boy emotionally. "I don't know what's going on," he spoke up, "But I won't let you hurt Aichi any longer!"

Jun glared at the brunet, and it didn't feel like it was just because he got himself involved, but there was a tinge of hatred. "You don't know what's going on because it's none of your business!" he replied in Japanese, "After all, you're nothing but a-!"

"Enough!" the masked figure shouted again, he too also speaking in Japanese. He looked back at the prince. "I'm sorry, Prince Aichi, but I'm afraid it is time for you to go."

Aichi's eyes widened. "No!" he cried out. "I can't go just yet! You haven't told me anything!"

"As prince of the Gold Winged Clan, you have no right to meddle in the affairs of the Red Winged Clan." said the masked man. "Besides," he turned towards Kai. "Your friend here looks rather beaten up. I would focus more on him than us if I were you."

The prince was torn. It was true that Kai's face looked rather beaten up and it would be best to heal it, but it was possible that he would probably never meet the Red Winged Clan after this. He had so many questions that needed to be answered. He looked over at Kai, who gave him a look that assured him that he was fine. Aichi was about to open his mouth to retort the masked figures suggestion when the matter continued.

"Jun, have your men escort the both of them out."

At that moment, it seemed like nothing he could say will make them change their mind. Two of the biggest men of the group grabbed Aichi and Kai and kicked them out, locking the warehouse door behind them. Aichi banged at the door, demanding that they let him back in so he could talk to them, but it was no use. His cries were only responded with silence. Eventually, Aichi was unable to continue and he fell to his knees. He didn't understand anything that was going on. More and more mysteries kept piling up, and no one would tell him anything. Why wouldn't anyone tell him anything?

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He didn't need to look up to know that it belonged to Kai. "Let's go, Aichi."

As much as he didn't want to, he knew he had no choice but to follow Kai back home. The red wings were too stubborn and nothing he said would make them change their mind. Standing up, he and Kai walked away from the warehouse. Aichi may have won the duel, but he didn't win where it really mattered.

And the worst had yet to come.


	21. Chapter 20: Broken Bonds

As soon as Aichi and Kai left the warehouse, Jun and the masked man faced each other with intense eye contact. The rest of the red wings kept their distance, feeling the dark aura that surrounded the two; the air suffocating.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?" the masked man spoke. "You were told to keep an eye on Prince Aichi, not kidnap him. Because of your actions, we come off no different from the Black Winged Clan."

Jun chuckled. "That's rich coming from the hypocrite." he replied. "'Here on Earth, we are not the Red Winged Clan'? In that case, why should we take orders from 'the witch' with you serving as her messenger? Besides, my boys and I have a beef with the little prince. He's part of the reason why we're here! Him, and 'the tool'!"

Blue eyes narrowed behind the dragon mask. "What happened ten years ago is no one's fault. If anyone is to be blamed, it is the Void."

"Even if the Void did cause the event, that doesn't mean anyone else involved is exempt." said Jun. "The moment I saw 'the tool', I knew it would be the Red Winged Clan's downfall. It should never have been created! Even now, it exists! The Red Winged Clan will never be free from its suffering so long as it exists!"

"You shouldn't have dragged Aichi into this though! He has nothing to do with this!" the masked man cried.

Jun's eyes widened before letting out a loud boisterous laugh. "What's with that, referring to the prince so informally?!" He walked over to the masked man. "I really can't take you seriously, especially with that stupid mask and voice filter!"

He ripped the mask off the mysterious figure's face, revealing spiky blond hair and blue eyes. Miwa glared at the other red winged male, who gave him a smirk back. He was not pleased with the latter's actions and behaviour and hated how disrespectful he was to anyone above him.

"Aichi is innocent in all this." the blond repeated.

"You sure about that?" asked Jun, crossing his arms. "Then perhaps you can tell me; why is he here on Earth? Are we certain that he may not be searching for 'the tool' for his own personal gain? Can we really say that he's innocent?"

"Why would Aichi want 'the tool'?" It was Miwa's turn to ask. "What would he gain from it?"

Jun moved closer to Miwa, barely any distance between them. He patted the blond's head. "Silly Miwa. Surely you remember what happened."

The blond male said nothing. He refused to give the raven haired male the satisfaction of answering him. He was not an idiot. He remembered the events of ten years ago in perfect detail; the events that changed the Red Winged Clan and transformed it into a shell of the formerly glorious and powerful clan it once was. Even so, he refused to blame anyone or anything other than the Void for these events. He knew full well it made him sound ignorant, but he wanted to believe in the people he thinks are good. And among them is Aichi. He didn't know him very well, but from their interactions, the blue haired male was kind and caring. He treated everyone with gentleness, put in lots of effort in the things he does, and most of all, he loved Kai, and despite his protests it was clear that Kai loved him too, for he seemed happier around him.

He slapped Jun's hand away. "If both me and my mom hear you tried to hurt him again, you better pray you and your men have a easy punishment."

"Ooh, scary!" Jun mocked. "I quiver with fear of your amazing prowess. Sorry Miwa, but you are as threatening as a teddy bear."

It was Miwa's turn to smirk. "Is that so? Because it sure looked like you feared me when I first showed up."

And just like that, Jun began to glare, thus making the reversal complete. "I was scared for my companion. He's a newbie. He didn't know what your actual personality is like; that you are not the type to hurt anyone."

The blonde laughed. "That was me back as a kid. The me now won't hesitate to hurt those who hurt the people I care about."

They were both at an impasse; neither refusing to back down. After minutes of staring each other down, Miwa decided to be the better man. It was getting really late and he was tired. He was about to call it a night when his cell phone started ringing. He looked at the caller ID. It was his mom. He answered the phone.

"Taishi! Did you deal with Jun and his group?" Tsukiko's voice rang through the speaker.

"Just did!" Miwa replied. "I stopped them before they hurt Aichi. He and Kai are heading home now."

The blond male expected the older woman to cheer with joy and congratulate him for a job well done, considering that despite her worry for his relationship with Kai, she didn't want anything bad to happen to the young prince. To his surprise however, she kept silent. He was worried. He asked her if something was wrong.

"I ended up getting another vision not long after you left." she replied. "It was Aichi, sitting in an alleyway, bleeding."

Miwa's eyes widened with shock upon hearing this. "You don't think the Black Winged Clan got to him again, do you?"

"No, it's not the Bkack Winged Clan. From what I could gather, they are after the prince unharmed. No, I think my worst fear might be upon us."

She didn't need to say anymore, for the younger male knew what she was talking about. His eyes narrowed. "I'll go look around." He hanged up and ran out, making sure his wings were hidden first before exiting, confusing Jun and his men.

XxXxX

After lots of walking down the streetlight lit roads, Kai and Aichi finally made it back to the apartment. Both had been quiet the entire time, but considering all they had gone through, it wasn't a surprise. Aichi had finally found the Red Winged Clan. How he wanted to ask them so many questions; to learn more about their exile and why he had a pendant that belonged to them, and then they push him away. It wasn't like he didn't get anything from it, for he learned that their exile takes place around the same time as 'the event' where Aichi was in danger from. It wasn't just that though, as they seemed to imply both events were connected. But how? Was Aichi truly the reason for their exile? Rather than answering him, it seemed talking to them only produced more questions.

And the most frustrating thing of all was how powerless he was during all of it.

Sure, he managed to defeat Jun in a duel and saved himself from an even worse situation, but he didn't feel like he truly won. It was an empty feeling, and he may have painted himself in a worse light in front of the Red Winged Clan than he had been in previously. Was that all he could do; make things worse for other people?

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Kai placing his hand on the younger's shoulder. "It's getting late." the brunet pointed out. "We should get ready for bed."

Aichi didn't reply back. His thoughts drifted into another direction. What did Kai think of him? He could see full well the human male cared about him; he wouldn't have gone so far to take care of him and protect him otherwise, no matter how much the blue haired male didn't want him to go so far for his sake. However, it's also clear that Kai had demons haunting him day and night. He wanted to help him, but it wouldn't seem like Kai would let him. Was he truly…?

As Kai had finished pulling out both their pajamas, Aichi, who had been subconsciously walking over towards the brunet, pulled on the human male's sleeve. "Kai," the winged male spoke up, "Please be honest with me. Am I that unreliable?"

Kai looked over at him before shrugging his arm off the blue haired male's grip. "We can talk about this in the morning."

"No! This needs to be addressed now!" Aichi shouted. "You, the Red Winged Clan; you push me away when I want to help! Why?! Am I that much of a burden?!"

"Aichi, this is not the time." Kai growled.

"Then when will it be time?!" the blue haired male cried out in frustration. He stared up at the taller male; his face still swollen from the fight. His expression softened, then he placed both his hands on both cheeks and began to work his magic. "You have done so much for me. You even got hurt for my sake, even though you have no reason to. And you do it all despite my protests. Why can't I do the same for you? Why is it okay for you to get involved in my problems, but I'm not allowed to get involved in your problems?"

Kai could barely pay attention. His face was feeling tingly as the magic healed his wounds and felt good against the small, warm hands the magic was coming from. Once again, he absorbed Aichi's sweet scent, which was soothing to his nose, almost putting him to sleep. He couldn't understand why whenever he was basked in the younger male's scent it either calmed him to the point of falling asleep or it would arouse him, but he couldn't think about that right now, for his mind was slowly going blank.

Once Kai's wounds were healed, Aichi wrapped his arms around the taller male, resting his head on his shoulder. "Is it wrong of me for wanting to be closer to you; to want to protect you as much as you do for me? You know so much of me, but I barely know anything of you. I know that you can be rather stubborn and harsh and unapproachable… but you are actually very kind. I know that you are talented at almost everything, especially cooking, but you have stuff you aren't good at. You're only now just getting the hang of dancing and you aren't that good with sword fighting. Miss Tsukiko and Miwa are your current family as your parents passed away I don't know how long ago. And every night, you've had nightmares, though they seem to have gotten better recently. You're smart and strong and handsome…" He gripped tighter.

"But despite all that… it feels like I don't know you at all; that you are someone out of my reach. I don't know what it is that attracts me to you. I just know that I am. And though I know you don't believe me… I have no doubt that what I feel for you is love. I don't know if I can truly ease you from your pain or not… maybe I'm not the one who can. But I want to do my best. If I can help even just a little bit… if you'd let me…"

Aichi is unable to contain the tears. A part of him hated how easily he would cry at even the smallest thing. He felt pathetic. Suddenly, Kai's body began pushing against Aichi's. The blue haired boy thought that he might have fallen asleep, but then he realized it was not the case. Being bigger and stronger, the human male pushed Aichi against the closest wall. The smaller male was pinned in between the other male and the flat surface behind him.

"Kai…?"

The older male didn't respond. He hid his face in the crook of Aichi's neck, taking a breath in. The blue haired male was starting to feel uncomfortable with the silence and Kai's unusual actions. The feeling got worse the moment he felt the brunet's lips against his nape, placing kisses all over the side of his neck. Why would Kai, who had been denying any romantic feelings towards the winged male, suddenly start doing this?

"Kai, what are you-?!"

But before he could say anything more, Aichi was hit with excruciating pain on his neck. After placing kisses all over, Kai proceeded to bite down as hard as he could. The blue haired boy let out a shrill scream upon feeling the pain. Why did Kai bite him? But pain was not the only thing he could feel. The pain was combined with intense heat, as if the place the brunet was biting was set on fire. Not only that, but the right side of his body began to feel wet, and he knew full well that it wasn't water.

The moment he looked down, confusion turned to full on terror as he saw red dripping off him.

"Kai! Let go!" he cried, trying to force the older male to release him. But no matter how hard he tried, the brunet would not let go. Eventually, Kai let go of his own accord and made eye contact with Aichi.

At that moment, he knew the one staring at him was not Kai, or at least not the Kai he knew.

Cerulean hues were met with golden lizard eyes, staring at him with lust and desire. Blood, Aichi's blood, was dripping from the corners of his mouth; long fangs dyed red. Aichi continued to struggle out of the taller male's grasp but to no avail. Kai's hands, which now had long nails almost like claws, had a tight grip on him, holding him by the arms.

"Stop…"

Golden eyes began scanning the blue haired male's body, desiring all that was hidden underneath cloth.

"Please, stop…"

One hand let go of him, ready to tear everything off the younger male's body.

"STOP!"

With his freed arm, Aichi raised it up so his hand was close to Kai's eyes and released a flash of light. The human turned demon let out a roar of pain as he fell backwards, blinded from the light. As soon as he hit the floor, the monstrous roars were replaced by gasps as Kai returned to normal. His eyes didn't take too long to recover and he looked up at the blue haired male. The younger male stared down at him. A mix of emotions were shown on his face; fear, sorrow, betrayal. Kai was unsure of why, but the moment he noticed the stream of red flowing down Aichi's right arm and the copper taste in the brunet's mouth followed by the red he wiped off, his eyes widened and was unable to hide the pain he felt from his actions.

"Aichi, I…"

But before he could get a word in, Aichi ran out of the apartment without putting his shoes on first. Kai began to panic.

"Aichi!" he cried out, rapidly putting his shoes on before heading out, following after the blue haired male. However, it didn't take long before he lost sight of the younger male. He refused to give up though. He couldn't leave Aichi alone. What if the Black Winged Clan was still out there looking for him? And Aichi had no way to protect himself. He began looking around, hoping he was not too late.

XxXxX

"Do you not remember the street in your vision?" Miwa asked his mom through the phone as he ran through the streets.

"The only thing I saw was Aichi in an alleyway, bleeding." Tsukiko replied. "I don't know which alleyway it is though."

The blond sighed. "I can't help but worry though. If what you think has happened is true, the poor kid is in trouble. I just hope we find him before the Black Winged Clan does. I'll call you back if I find him."

After hanging up the phone, Miwa continued to run around, searching every single alleyway he came across, hoping to find Aichi soon. Maybe it wasn't actually a big deal. Maybe he was back at Kai's apartment safe and sound. No, he knew it wouldn't be the case. His mother's visions were never wrong, and that had him panicked more.

As he came across another alleyway, he caught sight of blue hair. He rushed over to find that it was Aichi lying unconscious; the right side of his body dripping with blood and bare feet covered in cuts and blisters. His mother's vision was right once again. If he had to guess, he had to assume the younger male fell unconscious due to blood loss. Either way, it wasn't safe for him to be lying there, so Miwa carefully picked him up and held him piggyback style.

"Taishi!"

It was Tsukiko's voice, but it wasn't coming from Miwa's phone obviously since their call ended not that long ago. The older woman was rushing over towards him to his surprise. "What are you doing out here?" he asked.

"You don't think I was going to leave the search entirely up to you." she replied. She took a close look at Aichi and examined his nape. "I was right. I knew this would happen."

"What happened? What did Kai do?"

Tsukiko did not answer immediately. Her attention was caught on something else. She then looked at him with a very serious expression. "I'll tell you later. Take Aichi back to the house and treat the wound. I have some things I need to take care of."

Miwa was unsure of what she meant by that. However, the more time he spends asking her about it, the worse Aichi will get. In the end, he decided to do what his mother asked him to do and, as carefully as he could, he hurried home carrying Aichi on his back. As soon as he had disappeared from her sight, Tsukiko looked over at a pile of boxes stacked up like a pyramid. "I know you three are there! Get your asses out!"

Kyou and his men came out from behind the boxes. The silver haired male smirked. "So, you noticed us." he spoke up. "You want something from us, old hag?"

The blonde woman's eye twitched from being called an 'old hag' but chose to ignore it. "So, I'm going to assume you are the boys who have been harassing Aichi?"

"Harassing is a strong word." Kyou replied. "I prefer the term 'assisting'. You see, he wishes to get home as soon as possible without any trouble. We just want him to realize that we are trying to help him."

"I see." said Tsukiko. "So you are trying to 'assist' him. If you don't mind me asking though… what does the Black Winged Clan want with the prince of the Gold Winged Clan?"

All three men had their eyes widened from Tsukiko's comment. Kyou took on a protective stance; his men followed suit. "You aren't some regular hag. Who are you, you witch?!"

It was Tsukiko's turn to smirk. "A witch?" she chuckled. "According to the people around me, that is exactly what I am." Her eyes began to glow and her hands were surrounded with flames, causing the three black wings to stare at her with fear. "And you boys don't want to mess with this witch when she's… 'burning' with rage."

XxXxX

Nothingness.

He was surrounded by nothingness. Where he was and why he was here he did not know. All he knew was that he was surrounded by an everlasting nothingness alone. He was scared. He tried to call out different names, hoping for an answer.

Silence.

He flew around the space, hoping to find something; anything. No matter the distance though, all there was was nothingness. As he roamed the vast nothingness, he wondered if he would be trapped there forever, alone. He denied it immediately after thinking it. He would escape somehow, no matter what. He just had to keep going.

He heard someone call his name. He turned around to see a familiar face making eye contact with him. He felt relieved upon seeing that person there but was caught off guard when his new companion wrapped their arms around him. He relaxed in their arms, feeling safe around them. The terror of nothingness could do nothing to him as long as this person was with him.

But it didn't last long as that calm was replaced with an excruciating amount of pain followed by the feeling of something dripping. This feeling… no, it couldn't be. His fear appeared to be true as he was met the eyes of a monster rather than the beloved person he thought it was. But the monster did not stop there and continued to bite. No, rather the monster began to eat him little by little, and he could do nothing but scream, hoping to be rescued. But like before, his cries fell flat and no one was coming to his rescue as the monster was about to eat the last of him.

XxXxX

Aichi screamed himself awake from the nightmare he had. He couldn't stop himself after what he just saw. It got worse when he felt something touch his shoulder. Still screaming, he turned and began swatting at whatever it was, eyes shut tight from the panic.

"Aichi, calm down! It's me!"

The blue haired male opened his eyes and managed to calm down a bit upon hearing a familiar voice. Right in front of him was the blond male, gazing at him with relieved eyes while holding a glass of water in his hand. Once he had the younger male calmed down, Miwa handed the glass over to him, making sure he took a sip. "Thank god I found you when I did. Any sooner and you might've died from the loss of blood."

Loss of blood? Thinking back on it, he did feel something wrapped around his neck. Placing the glass down on the table, he put his hand on his neck to feel the texture of cotton. He looked down to see that not only was his neck covered with a bandage, he was wearing a different shirt.

"Hope you don't mind, but I changed you out of your shirt and into one of my old ones." Miwa continued.

More than concerned that the blond male changed his shirt (especially since it meant he might've seen the wing marks on his back), Aichi was worried about the fact that he was bleeding enough to warrant first aid like this. He thought back, trying to figure out what might've led to this. He went to rehearsal, he and Kai ended up sharing a moment through a dance, the brunet denied any form of romantic feelings towards him, they got in an argument, was found by the Black Winged Clan, was captured by members of the Red Winged Clan, managed to fight for his freedom but unfortunately was unable to learn much about their exile. And then after that…

Cerulean eyes widened in realization; his small body trembling. Kai; what had happened to him? Why did he attack him? And his eyes; they weren't that of a human's, but rather of a wild animal, ready to devour its prey. He was horrified. Was he trying to eat him? Who, no, what was Kai?

He felt warmth around his body as Miwa wrapped an arm around him. "Everything's alright." he assured the younger male. "You are safe now. When you are ready, feel free to tell me what happened. I'm here for you. After all, what are friends for?"

Aichi eased himself into the embrace, and yet despite feeling nice, it didn't provide the same warm, comforting feeling he felt whenever he was close to Kai. Why did he yearn for the embrace of the man who attacked him like that? Was his love for him so deep that he would endure the hurt he had through this night? He never considered himself a masochist. A part of him was willing to take Miwa on his word. But what could he say? 'Miwa, I think your best friend and the guy you consider a brother might have an animalistic side to him and he bit me hard enough to make me bleed?' There was no way he would believe him. Nonetheless, it would be good to know what the blond may know.

"Miwa?" Aichi spoke up. "Have you… noticed anything strange regarding Kai?"

The older male looked over at him with a confused look. "Strange how?"

"Like…" Aichi tried to think of the best way to word it without it sounding odd or rude. "Has he ever… acted like a beast?"

Blue eyes narrowed. "In what way? As if he wasn't human or something?"

The blue haired male perked up. "Do you know anything about that?"

Miwa didn't respond immediately. He kept silent as Aichi's words ran through his head. Kai acting like a beast? He was truly worried now. Did Kai collapsing the other day not only bring back some of his old self but also... ? If collapsing the first time has done this much to him, if he were to collapse again…!

"Sorry, Aichi!" he finally spoke up. "I need to take a call." He got up from the couch, pulled out his cell phone from his pocket, and went to the other room. Aichi watched as he left, rather concerned with the blond male's strange change in personality. Now he knew for sure that he knew something about Kai's personality. He looked around the room. He didn't see Tsukiko around anywhere. Was that who Miwa was going to call? And then there was the fact that Miwa didn't say anything about Aichi's back. If he had changed his shirt while he was unconscious, he should've said something. Unless of course he didn't want to pry on his life, but that didn't sound like the blond male, who was the type to tease those he considered his friends.

What was he hiding?

In the other room, Miwa was on his cell phone calling his mom. He had to let her know what he had found out from Aichi. After a couple rings, she answered. "Mom, Aichi is awake. He didn't say anything specific, but he seemed to imply that Kai was acting beast-like. Could that be…?"

A sigh could be heard from Tsukiko's side. "I know. I could tell just by the wound. But Aichi's word does confirm it more. I'm going to go see Toshiki and see if he's alright. I have no doubt he must be shaken up by this just as much as Aichi."

"You mean to tell me Kai didn't do this of his own free will? Not that I think he would ever do anything like this willingly but..."

"...It's complicated to explain. Anyways, I'll be staying at his apartment overnight considering how late it is. Take care of Aichi. Let him know that he can stay over as long as he wants."

With everything settled, they gave their goodbyes and hung up the call. Miwa went back to the living room to see Aichi looking at him with a concerned look. "Is everything alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," Miwa replied. "Mom said she's gonna stay with Kai tonight. You should stay here. It's really late. Besides," he gave a cheeky grin. "We have rehearsal tomorrow and Mom would kill us if we dozed off in the middle."

Aichi gave a little chuckle albeit a little forced. It was hard to be cheerful with all that had happened. While it was fine now, he worried about how he was going to face Kai tomorrow. Miwa must've realized, because he placed his hand on the younger male's shoulder. "Would you rather skip rehearsal tomorrow?"

After a little bit of time contemplating it, the blue haired male shook his head. "I've missed too much rehearsal already." he replied. "Besides, I don't want to let everyone down." With all said and done, they went upstairs to Miwa's room. The blond male offered to lend him some pajamas but Aichi told him he didn't need them. He was fine keeping the clothes he was wearing on to go to bed as since he was already borrowing one of the older male's shirts to replace his shirt now covered in blood and he didn't want to waste any more clothes on himself.

"You never answered my question." Aichi spoke up after Miwa got back from the washroom to change into his own pajamas.

The blond male, who had just started to pull off the guest futon, looked over at him. "You mean regarding Kai?"

The younger male nodded. "I just have to know; is he actually like that? Since it was the first time I had ever seen him act this way, I don't want to believe it's his true personality but…"

"It's not." Miwa replied, putting the finishing touches on the futon. "Heck, I'd say even the stoic asshole personality he has is not his true self."

Aichi stared at him in awe as he laid down on the now prepared futon. "Really?"

It was Miwa's turn to nod as he got into his own bed. "You bet! The old Kai was actually one of the most cheerful guys I had ever met. He wouldn't let any bad shit bring him down. Not to mention he was super cocky, and you can't blame him; the guy was good at almost everything he did. He was super fun to hang out with."

"So what happened to make him change into what he's like now?"

A sigh escaped the older male's lips. "Well, a combination of things."

"Was one of those things the death of his parents?"

"You know about that?"

Aichi looked up at the ceiling. "Kai told me. He wouldn't tell me the details."

Miwa also looked up at the ceiling. "I see. If he told you that much at least, I think he considers you someone special enough to know." He didn't get a response back. He continued. "Yeah, their death was one of the factors. Well, his mom's death at least. He didn't bat an eye when it came to his dad."

"What did he have against his father?"

Miwa laughed nervously. "Sorry, but that's something Kai needs to tell you himself. I don't want to give out too much of his personal information without his permission."

Aichi nodded. Perhaps it was better to change the conversation. He thought over to something he had noticed but never had the chance to bring up until now. "If you don't mind me asking regarding your personal information, whatever happened to your father?"

Blue eyes widened from the sudden question before the blond laughed even harder. "I don't mind at all. Actually, it's always just been me and my mom from the beginning. I never had a dad."

It was Aichi's turn to be shocked. He looked over at him. "How is it possible for one to be born without a father? Don't all humans need a man and a woman to reproduce?"

Miwa laughed some more. "Sorry but man, you say a lot of really funny stuff, Aichi!"

"I don't know what's funny about it."

"It's just the way you phrase things." The older male began to calm down. "But sorry. I'm not making fun of you. And to answer your question… well, how do I put it? From what I gathered, my mom had sex with a random guy and that's how I was born."

"I never thought Miss Tsukiko of all people would be someone who would do something like that, given how she wrote such a beautiful romance story."

"Well, that's not to say my mom never fell in love. All I can say though is that it was never reciprocated."

"Really?" the blue haired male looked back up at the ceiling. "I wonder why..."

"But it's not like I want her to find someone else if she doesn't want to. Even if it's just me, her, and Kai as a family, I don't mind. After all, I wouldn't ask for a better family." Miwa adjusted himself so he was laying comfortably. "Anyways, we should get some sleep." And with that, he went to sleep.

Aichi continued to stay up a little longer; many thoughts clouding his head. He was filled with lots of complicated emotions, a lot of them towards Kai; sorrow, fear, betrayal, but also love and yearning. Why did he feel this way after what had happened? He should be hating him, no, possibly loathing him after what he had done, and yet he couldn't stop thinking about him, worrying about him, scared for him. The mark where he had bit was still burning, throbbing against his neck. As he laid there in his thoughts, sleep eventually took over, and everything went black.

XxXxX

"Aichi!" Kai cried as he ran down the empty streets. It had been around an hour and there was no sign of the winged male. He was really worried. Maybe he was too late. Maybe the Black Winged Clan already got to him. He shook those thoughts out of his head. He refused to believe that happened. Still, he had to hurry just in case.

He kept running until he came across an alley. Though it was barely visible in the darkness, he could see a red puddle on the ground. This did not help his anxiety in the slightest. If that puddle came from Aichi…

He kept calling Aichi's name, hoping for a response. The only reply he got was from some dogs barking in the distance. His hands shook in fear and he got himself hyperventilating. He didn't know what he would do if something terrible had happened to the blue haired boy. If he had known something like this would happen, would it had been better to admit his love for him, even if they had to part at the end of the month? Would this never have happened if he did?

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his cell phone ringing. He pulled it out and looked at the caller id, hoping it could be something to show him that Aichi was alright. It was Tsukiko. Kai was annoyed that the older woman was calling him, especially in this hour, but decided to answer for he knew that this would never stop if he did.

"I'm at your apartment and I saw that you weren't home." she spoke on the other side. "Where are you?"

Kai growled. What would she possibly want at this hour? "I don't have time to talk! I-!"

"Aichi is safe."

Teal eyes widened at what the blonde woman said. "You know where he is?!" he exclaimed, not hiding the worry in his voice.

"He's at the house. Taishi is there with him. However, I think it would be best if you both have your space for tonight. So come back to the apartment."

Upon hearing that the younger male was safe, the brunet's legs gave out and he fell to the ground. He was relieved to hear the news and that the Black Winged Clan didn't get to him. Even so, the fact that he had tried to attack Aichi without realizing it; a wave of emotions were swirling in the pit of his stomach. Once he got the strength of his legs back, he went back to his apartment where Tsukiko waited for him inside. As soon as she saw him, she wrapped his arms around him.

"I'm glad that you are alright." she told him.

Kai simply frowned. "Why are you worried about me?" he asked. "Aichi is the one that got hurt. You should be focusing on him."

The blonde woman looked up at him. "Why shouldn't I worry about you? You weren't at your apartment and it was quite a while since we found Aichi; I wasn't sure what had happened to you."

At that moment, the brunet broke himself out of the older woman's grasp and began to pace around the room. "You want to know what happened?! I'm the reason Aichi got hurt. I was the one who made him bleed like that! I'm not the victim here! He is! I don't even know what happened… I…" His body began to tremble as tears ran down his face. He held up his hands and looked down at them. "I just… blacked out… and when I came to… Aichi!"

Tsukiko walked over towards him. "Toshiki, just calm down."

"HOW THE FUCK CAN I CALM DOWN?!" Kai shouted. His face was red and his breathing was ragged, making the blonde woman worry more. But before she could say anything, he continued. "I regained consciousness to see Aichi bleeding and to taste his blood in my mouth! That's not normal! Just what… what is with me…?!"

He couldn't say any more, as like the time with the skateboard, Kai's chest was hit with devastating pain and he couldn't breathe. And like before, he fell to the ground and fell unconscious. Tsukiko rushed over towards him in panic. She had feared that this would happen again.

And unlike the last time, it was going to be worse.

Like before, Kai's eyes turned into gold lizard eyes and his teeth had become fangs. But this time, not only had his nails grown longer, looking like claws, but though barely noticeable under his hair, his ears were growing pointy. Luckily for the both of them, Tsukiko had brought the bottle with the liquid she had used before. She tried to force his mouth open to pour the drink in, but this time, when she got his mouth open to a certain width, flames came flying out. She had managed to dodge the flames in time and luckily they disappeared before they got caught on something. She knew she had to be careful this time. Making sure no more flames would come out, she opened the bottle and poured some of the liquid in. Like before, as soon as he devoured the drink, he began to look human again and he was just sleeping peacefully.

As soon as she put the bottle away, Tsukiko used all her strength to get the unconscious male off the ground and onto the bed. She helped get in comfortably and tucked him in, smiling briefly with how much it reminded her of when both he and Miwa were children and how she would tuck them both in. But it didn't last long, and she was filled with melancholy once again.

"This is the second time already." she whispered to herself. "If this happens two more times…" She took the brunet's hand and clenched it tightly within her own. "Haru… I'm scared. I'm don't know if I'll be able to stop it." She continued to lament until sleep took over, taking her to dreamland.


	22. Chapter 21: Dilemma

The first thing to greet him as soon as he regained consciousness was the delicious smell of food cooking. But how was that possible? He was laying in bed and he was supposed to be alone. But as he thought that, an image of blue hair popped into his mind. Could it be…?!

"Aichi!"

As Kai rapidly sat up from his bed, looking over at the figure at the kitchen, he realized that it was not the winged male and frowned. It had occurred to him that Aichi was not home, and that even if he was, he would never be awake early enough to make breakfast before the brunet. Tsukiko, noticing the younger male was up, gave him a gentle smile, though it was clear it would not affect him.

"You're finally awake." she spoke up. "I hope you don't mind if I use your kitchen to make breakfast."

Kai did not respond. Instead, his mind was filled with events of the previous day. Of course Aichi was not here. He was the one that scared him off. Even if he didn't remember what he did, it was no excuse for what he _had_ done. As soon as breakfast was ready, Kai helped set the table up and then the two sat down to eat. Tsukiko found it odd to eat while sitting on cushions as she was used to sitting at a dining table, but found the experience refreshing nonetheless. Kai barely ate. He didn't have much of an appetite. But to be fair, it would be hard for anyone to have an appetite if they regained consciousness with someone else's blood dripping from their mouth. The taste was still there, albeit faint, but it was enough to almost feel sick eating food, regardless of how good the meal was.

As they were eating, Tsukiko's cell phone started vibrating. She apologized to the brunet before looking at the object, noticing she received a text. Kai was unsure of what the text was, but decided not to question it, knowing he would probably regret it if he did. After looking at the text, the blonde woman simply smiled.

"That was Taishi." she remarked, as if she knew what the younger male was thinking. "He and Aichi are heading to rehearsal." She finished her breakfast and stood up. "We should get ready too. That is of course if you don't feel up to it. I can give you a break just for today."

The brunet lowered his face, staring down at the table. That's right; the play. He and Aichi were playing the lead roles, acting like lovers. But after last night… "I can't."

Tsukiko continued to smile. "Of course. Everyone needs a break-!"

"No!" Kai interrupted her. "I mean I can't!" He looked up at the older woman with a serious expression. "I quit."

XxXxX

"Aichi? Are you ready yet?" Miwa called from downstairs. He was worried about the blue haired male. While he said he was fine to go to rehearsal, the blond wondered if he really felt that way but just didn't want to worry him. After all, Kai would be there too. Was he ready to face him so soon?

"I'll be down in a minute!" Aichi responded. He had just finished healing up his feet from the cuts and blisters so it didn't hurt to walk (making sure Miwa was out of the room first before doing so), and he was already dressed in some blue pants and a sky blue turtleneck that the older male lent him to cover the bandages around his neck. If he was completely honest, he felt nervous going to rehearsal if it meant seeing Kai. He felt like it was too soon to see him after what happened. But he really couldn't let everyone at rehearsal down. As scared as he still was to see the brunet, he decided to tough it up and get rehearsal over with. He slapped his cheeks before heading out of the room and meeting Miwa downstairs.

As soon as they found some shoes Aichi's size (they couldn't find any of Miwa's old shoes so they had to borrow one of Tsukiko's, making sure it was androgynous enough that he wouldn't be asked why he was wearing women's shoes), they left the house and made it to the theatre theater where they met Morikawa and Izaki outside. Both males were not only shocked with Aichi's change of attire since it would be strange for one to wear a turtleneck sweater during summertime, but also the fact that he came to rehearsal with Miwa and not Kai. Noticing Aichi's discomfort, the blond male tried to keep the topic away from Kai while subtly informing the other two to not bring up the whole situation. The three males delved in conversation as they waited for Tsukiko to get there with the key. Aichi remained silent, not really in the mood to talk with anyone at the moment. He just wanted to keep to himself until they start rehearsal.

After a few minutes, Tsukiko finally showed up; her expression rather sullen. The boys were concerned of why she looked that way. Both Miwa and Aichi also began to wonder why Kai wasn't there with her. Didn't the blonde haired woman spend the entire night over at his apartment? Tsukiko unlocked the door, letting the boys in. She asked for them to sit down somewhere comfortable, for she had some things to bring up.

"First of all," she began as soon as she saw them sitting down, "With there being a performance these next couple of days, we will not have any time for rehearsal, so we are going to have a short break. However, that doesn't mean you can all slack off. We have half a month left to get everything down pat." She then sighed. "The second thing I want to bring up… is that from today onwards, we're going to have to look for a new Draco."

The announcement was met by shocked gasps and expressions. Miwa was the first to speak up, standing up as he did so. "A new Draco?! What about Kai?"

Tsukiko lowered her head. "He told me this morning that he wishes to give up the role. It was too stressful on him and he was never that interested in the role in the first place, so I just left it be."

"And you're determined to search for a new Draco when we only have half a month left?! It was a bitch to get the cast we could! There's no way we'll find a new Draco in time! And even if we did, we won't be able to be ready in time for the performance day!"

"Then I'll do some rewrites." the blonde woman replied. "With how desperate we are, we don't need a page. In that case, Izaki, you will be our new Draco!"

That announcement resulted in even more shock from the boys, especially Izaki, who just sat there frozen. He quickly snapped out of it though and began to stutter. "Y-You know… I-I'm fine with being th-the page! I-It might be better to get s-someone else for Draco!"

"We won't need to get anyone else for Draco!" Miwa shouted, "Kai _will_ play Draco! We can't afford anyone else but him to play the role and I'm sure he doesn't really want to give it up!"

"No, Miwa."

Everyone looked over at Aichi, who finally spoke up. He didn't look at anyone, staring down at the floor with his bangs hiding his eyes. He continued. "Kai never wanted to be a part of this. He only agreed to because he noticed my discomfort with playing the role of Lucia and having to play the role of lovers with whoever plays Draco. He took it on so I wouldn't have to worry about acting with a complete stranger. But if he truly wishes to quit, then we shouldn't force him to stay."

"But what about you, Aichi?" Morikawa spoke up. "Would you be alright if Kai isn't the one playing opposite of you?"

Aichi remained silent. Tsukiko gave another sigh. "At the very least, Izaki, if you could play as Draco for rehearsals until we find an understudy, I would appreciate it."

And so, they proceeded to rehearsal. Things went okay, though Aichi was rather absent minded through it all. He kept forgetting lines and cues, kept tripping during the dance choreography, and while practicing on one of Lucia's songs, he broke down in tears in the middle. It was so bad, Tsukiko had no choice but to call rehearsal off early. It was clear that the blue haired boy was not in the right mindset even if he insisted he was fine. That said, they ended early and Aichi went back to the Miwa household with the mother and son duo.

Once they were back home, the winged male spent his time alone in Miwa's room. Hearing that Kai quit truly shocked him, but he knew it was to be expected. After what had happened, what reason would he have to stay? Besides, even if Kai had decided not to quit, it wouldn't change the awkwardness between them. Aichi believed it best that they not be together, even if the touch of another person as the role of Draco didn't fill this void in his heart. As he spent the time alone, he found the unusual space to be rather uncomfortable to be deep in thought in. He let the Miwa family know he was going out for a bit before heading to the place he knew would be the perfect spot to be alone.

XxXxX

Spending time alone in a hot, stuffy apartment did not sit well with Kai. An hour after Tsukiko left, the brunet decided to head to the one place he always went to when he had a lot of things on his mind; a place he hadn't gone to not long after Aichi appeared in his life.

The park.

As soon as he got there, he made his way to his favourite bench, which had the perfect mixture of heat and shade to make it refreshing. It was the perfect place to take naps whenever he could actually sleep, and it was also the perfect place to delve into his thoughts.

Life was so fragile. The smallest thing could cause one's relationship to shatter into pieces. But this was not a small thing. It was a rather huge thing. He couldn't face Aichi. He was scared to. His fear of seeing those hurt cerulean eyes again took control of his entire being. If he stayed in the play, he and the blue haired male would be seeing each other frequently. He wouldn't be able to take it. Besides, he never wanted any part of it in the first place. He never had a passion for acting and he didn't want to get involved in something so senseless even if it was a favour from someone he knew.

And yet why did he feel so guilty?

He knew the reason why. Aichi had depended on him to be by his side for the whole production. It was like he betrayed his trust. No, he betrayed his trust the moment he bit the younger male's neck to the point of bleeding.

He didn't deserve to be with Aichi.

Kai heard a meow beside him. He looked over to see the cat. He was about to reach out to pet it, but stopped himself before he could. He didn't want to hurt anything else precious.

"I couldn't protect him." he spoke aloud, feeling like he needed to let it all out. "There is no way I can. After all, how can I protect him when I'm the biggest danger to him? I'm afraid. Just how much more would I have hurt him had I not snapped out of it? I've already hurt him enough. I cannot be with him."

"Are you okay with that?"

Kai's eyes widened as he heard a familiar voice from beside him. He looked down at the cat. There was no way! It couldn't be possible!

"Did you just… speak?" he asked the cat.

"You can understand me?" the cat asked. "Do you have the same ability as the boy? No, my instincts tell me that is not the case. His is more like a power that he developed over time. Yours is like it's always been a part of you."

The brunet wasn't paying attention. He was lost in his thoughts as he began to panic. The cat… was speaking to him! It was speaking… words to him! How was it possible?! This has never happened before in his entire life! He felt the cat tapping his leg with its paw.

"I can understand why you would feel confused with your new predicament." said the cat.

Kai huffed. "Confused is an understatement."

The cat simply ignored that comment. "However, I don't think it should justify not being by the boy's side. I was wary of the inner demons that hide within you, but thanks to the boy's belief in you, I have seen something I was ignorant of before, and I believe it is something that may ease your mind; you have the power to control it."

"Control it?" Kai asked in a disbelieving tone. "How the hell can I control something that takes over my subconscious? And I can't believe I'm telling all my troubles to a cat..."

"We cats have knowledge going back thousands upon millions ago." The cat laid down. "We know all sorts of things, such as the existence of the winged people."

Kai's eyes widened. "So, you know that Aichi is…!"

"Yes, I can tell that boy is one of the winged people."

"So, do you know what I am?" The brunet sighed. "With all the crazy things happening to me, I'm starting to doubt my own humanity."

"The truth is, I don't know what you are. Why you take on a human form is also a mystery to me. I may know a lot of things taught to me by my ancestors but even we cats don't know the things unknown to us, such as your true form."

Kai looked down at his hands. "So I'm really not human, huh? That gives more reason why I should not be by Aichi's side. I don't know if I can truly control this or not, but I won't take that risk." He stood up. "Aichi is better off without me in his life." He walked away, leaving the cat alone on the bench as he left the park.

Unbeknownst to him, the moment he left the park, Aichi had shown up; the two barely missing each other and unaware of the other's presence.

The moment he entered the park, the blue haired boy walked through until he had reached his destination; the lake that served as the portal between Earth and the Cloudlands. He sat down on the steps and looked down at the clear water filled with koi swimming around. He ran his hand through, feeling its it's cool, gentle touch brush through. It was risky of him to come to the lake with the Black Winged Clan after him, but he couldn't resist. Even if they showed up, he would be able to escape like always.

But then he remembered he had only been able to escape those numerous times because Kai was with him. His frown deepened as he pulled his hand out of the water and pulled his legs close to his chest. The cat, who noticed the winged male, jumped off the bench and walked over to him, meowing to get his attention. Aichi turned to look at the feline. He gave a melancholy smile as he pet the small creature.

"You may find it crazy to believe," he began, "But this lake is the way to get home. Though it's not that simple. I still have about half a month left before I can get home again."

"Do you miss your home?" the cat asked.

"A little." he replied. "I was worse off when I first got here." He gave a little melancholic chuckle. "I was so much of a mess back then. I couldn't stop feeling depressed. But… Kai, who had already given me a place to stay, went out of his way to cheer me up. He took me to the amusement park, where I got to see so many fun and exciting things. If I had the power to go back in time, I want to go back to that moment, where I was oblivious to human concepts and… if Kai and I simply stayed as acquaintances. Supposing we kept our relationship at that level, would I not be feeling this pain?"

The cat climbed onto the blue haired boy's lap. "Do you regret having your feelings developing into what they have become?"

Aichi didn't answer. He pulled the cat close to his chest and held it close, being careful not to squish it. The cat hated being held in this way, but let it slip due to how the boy was feeling.

"Before I ended up here," Aichi continued, "I got into an argument with my friend. We've made up now as we were able to communicate with each other not long after I got here. But she said that one must base their actions on logic. My mind tells me… that it's best to stay away from Kai, for he betrayed my trust and is likely too dangerous to be close to. But my heart…"

The feline looked up at the blue haired male. "I have no doubt he is as conflicted about this situation as you are."

"You were right though." He pet the cat. "I was blind to see that there was a potential threat within Kai."

"And you are choosing to ignore it? You did say you are conflicted between following your mind and following your heart. Which is stronger, I wonder?"

Once again, Aichi was unable to answer. He pulled the cat off his lap and pat its head before standing up. "I better go. You take care." With that said, he made his way out of the park. The cat watched him leave until the winged male disappeared from sight.

"I hope the two of you fix this dilemma you're both in."

XxXxX

During the time Aichi had been in the park, Miwa and Tsukiko had been sitting across from each other in the living room, tea in their possession. The blond male simply sat there as he watched his mother take a sip from her cup; his expression serious. As soon as she finished and placed her cup down, the young male spoke up.

"What did Kai do for things to get like this?"

Tsukiko sighed. She wanted to avoid this discussion as much as possible, but with her son cornering her like this and the fact that he gets his stubbornness from her, she had no choice but to tell him. She took a deep breath.

"What had happened was Toshiki reacting by his natural instincts." she began. "He lost control of himself and as a result has marked Aichi."

Miwa looked confused. "Marked him? You mean like when someone gets possessive with their lover, they leave a hickey or something like that?"

The older woman glared at him. "I don't believe I raised you with a mindset stuck in the gutter." She sighed. "But it's not exactly that. You see, it is a permanent mark, binding Aichi to Toshiki for all eternity."

"Aside from the bleeding that happened, it doesn't sound that bad." Miwa laughed. "You made it sound more serious."

But Tsukiko was not amused. "It is serious." She looked down at her cup. "If Aichi was a normal person and he was madly in love with Toshiki, this wouldn't be an issue-!"

"Aichi is madly in love with Kai!" the blond male interrupted.

"Enough to give up everything just to be with him?"

That question left Miwa speechless. He scratched his head, unsure of how to respond to it. Tsukiko picked up her cup, took another sip of her tea, and continued.

"Aichi is prince of the Gold Winged Clan. He is expected to choose a partner within his own clan to rule beside him. That has been law since the conflict with the dual winged children. But with Toshiki's mark on him, he will not be able to fulfill that duty. Should he fall in love with anyone other than Toshiki or mate with anyone that is not him…" Tsukiko fell silent.

This worried Miwa. He was hesitant to ask, but given how serious this all sounded, he needed to know. He begged for his mother to continue. Tsukiko could not say it at first. Her stomach felt like it was tied in knots and the words were caught on her throat. After taking another deep breath, she was finally able to let it out.

"The mark will burn his entire body, killing him."

The young male sat there in shock. He was unable to say anything. After a bit of time, he could finally let some words out. "I… I truly believe Aichi has strong feelings for Kai… but supposing he follows through with his duty as prince, is there any way to get rid of the mark?"

Tsukiko lowered her head. "There is… but-!"

"Then tell me what it is! I'll do it myself!"

"It's not that simple.

"Try me! I'll do anything if it means Kai and Aichi will reconcile!"

"The only way to get rid of the mark… is to kill the one who made it."

There was only silence. Miwa grinded his teeth in frustration as he clenched his hands on his lap. He stood up. "What the fuck, Mom?!" he shouted. "This is a big issue! If you knew this would happen, why didn't you try to prevent it?!"

"Just because I can see visions of this future does not mean I can prevent horrible things from happening!" it was the older woman's turn to shout. "If I could, then Toshiki's parents would still be alive! Besides, Toshiki must never learn about his true form or remember the horrible memories he had. If I did anything to arouse suspicion, he would be closer to finding out the truth."

The blond male crossed his arms. "Leaving things alone like this is not any better. If anything, I say this makes things worse! Depending on what happens, one of them is going to die because of this, whether Aichi does if he decides to choose a partner that's not Kai, or Kai does if we want to save Aichi!"

"Not if I am able to create a third solution." Tsukiko replied. "I am known through the Cloudlands as the Witch of the Red Winged Clan. I am the only one in the Cloudlands with the knowledge of brewing potions, like the one I made to give Toshiki a human form. It is possible that I can create something like the potion from Romeo and Juliet; a potion that gives off the illusion of death without really killing them. With that, I could save them both."

"Even so, I think things have gone too far." said Miwa. "I think those two have a right to know what's going on. We can't keep hiding the truth like this!"

"Out of the question."

"But why?!"

"Surely you have not forgotten Toshiki's state when we first got here on Earth. I took on a last resort to free him from his suffering. That meant erasing the past from his mind. And for ten years, he has been saved from that suffering."

"Yeah, but it erased everything that made him Kai! It was hard watching over him for ten years; someone who just lived for the sake of living! I missed the guy who I called my friend; my brother! And just from Aichi's appearance, he's been returning back to his old self. He's becoming Kai again."

"Yes, but that in itself is a double edged sword." Tsukiko picked up her cup once again and looked down at what was left of her tea. "With all the good things returning, all the bad stuff is returning as well. And it will only get worse so long as he and Aichi are together."

Miwa gave a loud huff. "I don't see the issue. He's only collapsed once-!"

"He collapsed again last night."

Silence filled the room once again. Tsukiko kept her gaze down, unable to look her son in the eyes. Noticing that Miwa wasn't saying another word, she continued. "Twice he has collapsed, and it only gets worse. The first time was when he experienced great joy, this recent time he was overcome with tremendous fear. Should he feel exhilarating rage and then the deepest sorrow after that, nothing will stop what is to come. That's why to prevent it, we must keep him away from the trigger of all these emotions rooted in his heart."

Unable to take it anymore, Miwa slammed his hand on the table, finally forcing Tsukiko to look up; making eye contact. The young male had a serious and determined look on his face. "You might not want to take that risk," he spoke up, "But I'm sure as hell not going to just stand here and do nothing." He walked out of the living room into the main hall, putting his shoes on. Tsukiko, putting the cup down, got up from her seat and rushed over to him.

"Where are you going?" she asked with concern.

"I'm going to fix this dilemma." the blond male responded. He looked over at her with a smirk. "We're gonna have a fun ride!"

Tsukiko was unsure of what he meant at first, but by the time she realized what was going on and made an attempt to try to stop him, the teen was already out the door. She let out a frustrated groan.

"Is something wrong?"

The blonde woman looked over to see that Aichi had returned. She gave him a fake smile.

"Oh, nothing's wrong!" she lied, "Just my son being a rebellious teenager. Honestly, it's hard to control him as a single mother."

Aichi tapped his chin with his index finger. "Is that so?" he asked. "He seemed like he was in a rush from something exciting."

Trying not to show it on her face, Tsukiko grew a little annoyed. It wasn't like she didn't understand her son's feelings about the whole situation. She too missed the boy Kai used to be; the kind and cheerful boy who was always grateful with the things he had, even if he came across as 'different', the boy who shared the same smile as the person Tsukiko loved the most.

She examined the blue haired boy. This was the boy who had been changing Kai. Whether it was for the better or not was rather debatable. She didn't want to see Kai get hurt, but what truly hurts the most? Would it be more painful for him to live a life with Aichi or without? She sighed. She knew how stubborn Miwa was and how he won't stop until he succeeds on his goal. If his plan succeeds, it would benefit her as well, so she had no choice but to give in.

"Are you sure you're okay, Miss Tsukiko?" Aichi snapped the older woman out of her thoughts. He appeared rather concerned with the silence and how Tsukiko's expression changed.

"I'm fine, thank you." Tsukiko replied, giving him a reassuring smile. I was actually deep in thought. Since you're here, I have a question. Do you have any interest in going to a resort?"

XxXxX

Habits are really hard to break once you've started, especially if it results in wasting food which could last longer. As soon as he got home, he began cooking dinner. It wasn't until he was in the middle of cooking when he realized he put in enough for two people. In just half a month, Aichi had been taking over his life. His mind was filled with thoughts of the blue haired boy. Were Miwa and Tsukiko able to take care of him properly? Would they be able to protect him from the Black Winged Clan?

Was Aichi happier with them?

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone knocking at the door. Making sure it was okay to leave the food alone for a bit, he made his way to the door. Was it Aichi? No, there was no way Aichi would return to him. Why did he want Aichi to return to him so badly despite hurting him? He needed to stop this. It was better for the both of them to not be together. He opened the door.

"Hey, Kai!" the cheerful voice of his best friend greeted him. "Thought I'd drop by and see how you're doing!" He got a whiff of the food cooking. "Mmm, something smells good! You don't mind if I eat with ya, do ya?"

The brunet was unable to get a word out, for Miwa had already invited himself in. Kai sighed. At least it solved the problem of wasted food. He went back to the kitchen to check on the food while Miwa sat down and turned on the TV, changing the channel to a random variety show. As soon as the food was done, Kai got the dishes set up and then set up the table, ready to eat. As soon as the food was in front of him, Miwa didn't waste any time with digging right in. He hummed with delight as the taste hit his taste buds.

"I swear, you beat Mom when it comes to cooking!" he remarked. "Not that Mom's cooking is terrible, but yours is like it was created by gods!"

"What is it you want?" Kai asked before taking a bite of his own food.

Miwa pretended to be offended. "I am shocked, Kai! I come all this way to see you and you think I want something?"

"You never come without a good reason."

The blond male let go of his act and gave his friend a giant grin. "Okay! You got me! So you remember I brought up the resort, right?"

"I refuse to go." Kai replied with no hesitation.

"Come on, Kai! I think it would be good for you! Just imagine it; the sand, the sea, babes in bikinis!"

"Not interested."

Miwa's grin grew bigger. "I know! You would rather gaze at a certain blue haired cutie."

Kai flinched at the mention of 'a blue haired cutie'. He looked up at his friend, whose grin grew into a giant smirk. Teal eyes narrowed. "What are you planning?"

His friend's attention now on him, the blond took another bite of his food. "I want to help you get Aichi back. I think the kid still loves you. And what a perfect place for a romance to ignite than at a resort with a beautiful beach and all sorts of wonderful attractions."

"Now you're sounding like a salesperson." the brunet muttered.

Miwa leaned forward. "Come on, Kai! Don't waste this chance!"

"I refuse." Kai took a sip of the glass of water beside his plate. "It's best that Aichi stays as far away from me as possible. Besides, I'd doubt he'd want anything to do with me after what happened."

A devious look blanketed the blond's face. "Why don't we make it a bet? I bet that if you come with us to the resort, by the time the trip is over, not only will you and Aichi be on good terms again, but the two of you will be so lovey dovey it would make people sick."

Kai sat there in shock. He never thought his friend would go so far as to make a bet with him. He smirked. "You think so, huh? Won't be that easy."

"Maybe not," Miwa responded back, "But I like a challenge."

"Supposing I decide to take you up on that challenge, what would I get for it?"

"If I lose, I can make it so you're left alone. Mom won't bother you, Morikawa won't bother you, and I will most definitely not bother you. But even if I win, you'll have Aichi back. It's a win-win situation no matter the outcome."

"And what makes you think I want to have Aichi back? Maybe I like this peace and quiet."

Miwa chuckled. "Right, and you just had two meals conveniently made the moment I showed up. I think that alone shows how much you want Aichi back."

Kai didn't want to admit it, but Miwa had managed to push him into a corner. He wanted Aichi back, but he was afraid that what happened the day before would happen again. The cat said that he could control this unknown part of him, but could he really do it? What if he couldn't contain it and ended up hurting the winged male again?

But what if there's a chance he could?

Miwa said that Aichi may still have feelings for him. Could he really believe that? But why would the blond lie? He's always wanted to see Kai happy. If taking on this bet means he and Aichi would be together again. He took a deep breath.

"Fine." he sighed. "I'll take your bet on. Like you said, I have nothing to lose."

The blond smiled then took the last bite of his food. "Awesome! Make sure you're ready for tomorrow!" Before Kai has a chance to ask anything else, his friend was already out the door. The brunet let out another sigh, this time more exasperated. Why did he let himself get talked into these things? With no options left, he got some stuff to last a couple nights together into a duffel bag.

Once everything was packed, with nothing else left to do, Kai decided to go to sleep early. There was no telling if the nightmares would return with Aichi not sleeping beside him. Regardless, it would be best if he tried to get as much sleep as possible. After all, tomorrow was going to be a long day.


	23. Chapter 22: Plan of Love

Nothingness.

It was starting again. As much as he didn't want it to, it was going to start again. He was already in so much turmoil, he didn't want anything to make it worse. Life loved to screw around with him, and he was always miserable because of it.

He couldn't continue those thoughts however, because out of nowhere, a whirlwind of leaves appeared and was moving in his direction. He tried to run, but his feet felt like they were glued to the invisible ground he stood on. It wouldn't be long until the whirlwind hit. With no other option left, he raised his arms in front of his face to serve as a shield in a desperate attempt to protect himself.

To his surprise, he wasn't cut up or blown away by the whirlwind. Rather, it blew past him like he was hit by a strong breeze. After some time had passed, it stopped; the sound of birds taking over. He lowered his arms and looked at his surroundings. It was the same forest from the previous. Why was he here again? Was he going to meet the child again? He didn't want to go through that pain again.

He felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, unsure of who it would be. Was it that child again? No, they wouldn't reach his shoulder. His eyes widened as he made eye contact with a certain familiar face with blue hair and gold wings. The newcomer smiled at him, and he in turn could not contain his own smile. The blue haired winged being stretched their hand out to him.

"Come on! Let's fly!"

The next thing he knew, he had taken the winged being's hand and was flying. He could not help but be mesmerized by the dazzling view below him; the dew covered grass that sparkled under the bright, warm sun, the clear lake that reflects the clear, blue sky, the trees that top it all off, creating a serene picture. However, it all paled in comparison to the beauty of the smile beside him. Only in the world of dreams can something feel so perfect.

But happiness only lasts for a fleeting moment.

The bright, blue sky suddenly went dark, and the welcoming warmth of the land below them was covered with fierce crimson flames. A strong wind blew against them, powerful enough to unlink their hands, causing him to fall as the winged being stared helplessfully before disappearing in the darkness.

He fell into the flames, but the fall didn't hurt him let alone kill him. He stood up, staring at his burning body in fear. Human flesh was melting off, revealing red skin underneath, as if the skin before was only a bodysuit. He ran out of the flames, hoping to find something to put the flames out.

As soon as he reached a patch of grass not covered by flames, he was greeted with the scornful glares of winged people; their wings all the colours of their representative clans. They raised their weapons as they shouted things at him.

"You monster!"

"We can't let a creature like you live any longer!"

"Slay the beast! He is a danger to our kind!"

"Off to the fires of Hell where you belong!"

Realizing the danger he was in, he ran away as fast as he could. He didn't care where; anywhere that was safe. As he ran, the grass beneath his feet burned to ashes, leaving a trail behind him. No matter how fast he was running, he could hear the winged beings right behind him, chanting something he couldn't understand. He feared for his life and for his sanity.

He kept running until, not watching where he was going, fell into a lake. The one positive of that was that his skin was no longer on fire, though the flames had already burned a lot off, including his clothes. He swam towards the other side and climbed out of the water. To his surprise, the winged beings didn't follow him across, instead just floating as they continued to scowl at him while going on with their chant. What were they planning?

His eyes caught sight of his reflection in the water, horrifying him. He could barely recognize what he looked like. Staring at him was a man who, while still having some of his flesh intact, had big blotches of rough red skin all over his body, with golden lizard eyes, fangs, long pointy ears, and a small horn at the top of his forehead. He smacked the water with his hand as hard as he could, erasing the image, but that only made him notice the change on his hands. Unlike the rest of his body, there was nothing left of human flesh, instead covered but the rough red skin which upon closer inspection looked like scale and long sharp nails that looked like claws. It was like his hands became that of a monster's. The terror before him caused him to scream, but sadly the scream was replaced by a thunderous roar.

What was becoming of him?

Suddenly, as soon as the reflection returned, he caught sight of something behind him, holding something that shined. He dodged what ended up being an attack against him and faced his attacker. It appeared to be some kind of white knight covered from head to toe in armour with the exception of gold wings carrying a sword. He wasn't going to let anyone kill him. He refused to die, no matter what he looked like now.

A fight began between him and the knight. The knight's skill with the sword was swift and impressive, but he was able to dodge every attack laid on him. But he knew he wouldn't be able to dodge forever. He needed to go on the offensive and defeat this knight. He waited for the chance to strike. The knight charged up to him and swung his sword once again. The moment he dodged, he found a defenseless spot on the knight. Not wanting to waste this opportunity, he made his move.

But his manner of attack was not what he expected he'd do.

Rather than a punch or a kick, he moved in close and used his newly grown claws to slash the knight's side. Then, with the armoured winged being's guard down, he pounced the knight, restraining him with all his strength. With the amount of force he was using, there was no way the knight could break free.

Suddenly, a familiar scent wafted through his nose. Where had he smelled it before? He couldn't remember. But something about it… it was affecting him somehow. His body began to move subconsciously. The next thing he knew, his newly obtained fangs bit into the knight's nape, sinking into the exposed flesh until he could taste blood flowing through the wound, causing the knight to scream under him. He pulled away out of shock. Why did he do that? It was as if he was acting like a…!

The knight stood up albeit struggling a bit; blood flowing out of the wound, staining his pure white armour. As soon as he was right up on his feet, the knight stumbled but managed to keep on his feet. However, his stumble caused his helmet to fall off, exposing his face.

It was the blue haired winged being.

Cerulean eyes looked at him full of malice and hatred. It was far different from what he was like earlier. How something so small could cause a rift between two people. The boy originally saw him as a human; a companion with whom he felt comfortable around. But cerulean eyes didn't reflect the human he believed he was. Like with his reflection in the water, he could only see a…

"Monster…"

XxXxX

It was the first time Kai didn't jump awake from his nightmares. Perhaps he had become numb from it all. Even so, he just laid in his bed wide awake; running the dream through his mind. He had hurt Aichi. There was a chance that he would hurt him again. And yet in a few more hours, he would be going on a trip under a bet on whether he and the blue haired male would make up. It had occurred to him that he and Miwa were both wrong with the idea that the brunet would have nothing to lose regardless of the results. But that wasn't true at all.

He may lose his sanity.

He loved Aichi. He couldn't deny it anymore. How much he had taken this love for granted because he feared losing the winged male. And while he wanted Aichi back so badly, there was a higher chance he would be rejected. The thought of it was too painful. That combined with the things going on with him such as his beastly actions and the recurring nightmares were driving him crazy.

He still had a few hours until he had to meet the group for the drive over and there was no way he was going to go back to sleep after that nightmare. He got up out of bed and walked over to the desk, turning the light on. He immediately caught sight of Aichi's pendant still sitting on the desk. He picked it up and examined it. He never did figure out why one of his previous nightmares had an image similar to the carving on the pendant. There were many mysteries that surrounded him and it was irritating him.

Just as he began to ponder, his head started aching. He clenched the sides of his head, trying in desperation to ease the pain. As he did, voices rang through his head.

"Here. I want you to have this."

"What? No, I can't! It looks too precious for you to give away like that!"

"Just take it! Consider it a present, a memento of our first meeting."

As soon as the voices stopped, the pain subsided. Kai had no idea what had happened. The irritation he felt grew into frustration. What was wrong with him?!

He needed to calm down. He needed something to get his mind off the pendant. He went through his bookshelf, looking for something to read, hoping that would do the trick. He then felt a familiar tree bark textured object hidden behind some of the books. He pulled it out. It was the Cloudlands book that Tsukiko gave him as an early birthday present; what had started it all. He glared at the book; its very appearance angering him even more. Supposing he had never read this book, he would not have these nightmares in the first place. They wouldn't have constantly woke him up in the middle of the night. All the things that wouldn't have happened if he had not let himself be drawn to it. He wouldn't be feeling this pain, he wouldn't be changing into something that scared him. With the book at hand, he walked over to the kitchen, turning on the stove, watching the blue flames rise. He knew destroying the book wouldn't change what had happened, but maybe he would finally have a peace of mind. Maybe it would ease his pain.

But then Aichi's face appeared in his mind and found himself hesitant to destroy the book. Yes, reading the book was the start of his nightmares, but supposing he had never read the book and never got his nightmares, what would've happened to Aichi? With no other allies to help and the Black Winged Clan after him, would he even be as safe as he is now? Or if another human had found him, he would be sold as some sort of sideshow attraction if he wasn't careful. Or what if the human was like Kai and they tried to help him? Well, that depended if they were crazy enough to believe that winged beings existed, but what if they did? If someone else had found him, would Aichi had fallen in love with them like he claimed he did with Kai?

His frustration caused him to throw the book over onto the bed. He stared at the book for a bit, then turned off the stove and walked over, sitting down on the bed right beside the book. While it was true that many bad things had happened after reading the book, it was because of it that he met Aichi. Having the winged male in his life brought so many wonderful experiences he never thought would be possible; simulating the feeling of flying in a night sky, a chance to pet cats, learning how to dance, riding a skateboard down a slope to escape some bad guys, having fun doing things he otherwise wouldn't have cared about. He had only lived for the sake of living until he had met Aichi. Someone as precious as that; he didn't want to let go.

But then that would mean he truly didn't love him.

Aichi was not some object one could possess. He was a living being with dreams and feelings like anyone else. As much as it would hurt Kai, he didn't want to restrain him. His bet with Miwa would help sort things out. If Aichi truly wanted nothing from him after the trip is over, he would happily disappear from his life. But if there's a small chance that he still loves him…

He picked up the book, walked to the desk, grabbed the pendant, and then put them both in the duffel bag with the rest of his stuff. Something told him to bring the book just in case, though he wasn't sure why he felt that way, and regardless of the outcome, he needed to return the pendant to Aichi. He then proceeded to do something to help pass the time. He read a book, he watched some TV, he looked at random stuff on his phone, going through his bag to make sure he had everything he needed. It certainly helped, for it was eventually time to go. He changed out of his pajamas and into the clothes he had picked for the day; a long sleeved blue shirt and red vest with beige pants. Once he was properly dressed, he grabbed his bag, put on some boots, and was out the door.

He made it to the meeting spot on time; the Miwa residence. He could see Miwa putting some luggage in the trunk of the minivan they were taking to the resort. It didn't take him long to notice Kai and as soon as the brunet was in clear view, he waved at him. Once he made it to his blond friend, Kai noted how he didn't see either Tsukiko or Aichi around.

"They're just finishing up inside." Miwa replied as he took Kai's bag and put it in with the rest. "Mom decided she wanted to make an entire wardrobe for Aichi since his clothes are still at your place and they felt it would be too awkward to get them and there's only so much of my old clothes that can fit him. Aichi insisted she didn't need to go that far but, well, you know Mom. She gets ecstatic on a potential project regarding clothes."

Kai nodded. Tsukiko loved to make clothes no matter the occasion. She believed that it was cheaper to make clothes than to buy them. Her clothes did look rather nice which wasn't a bad thing. The only problem was that sometimes she would go a little overboard. He remembered how during his childhood, she wouldn't stop making clothes for both him and Miwa to the point where their closets would be full of the clothes she made to the point where they had to give some away to charity. It was pretty crazy thinking back on it.

It wasn't long until both Tsukiko and Aichi walked out the door. Both were surprised to see Kai there, Aichi especially. Tsukiko smiled. "How are you doing, Toshiki?" she asked, trying to make friendly conversation. "I'm glad that you have decided to join us."

"I had nothing better to do." Kai replied. It was a lie obviously. He wouldn't be coming on this trip if it wasn't for his bet with Miwa. He looked over at Aichi, who had been averting his gaze, trying to avoid the brunet. He was dressed in a pink turtleneck sweater with a white jacket and blue pants. The brunet couldn't help but frown at the outfit choice. With Japan's hot summers, he would easily get heat stroke wearing that. But it was not like Kai had the right to complain. He always wore long sleeved shirts no matter the weather. However, while it seemed like Kai had some form of immunity to the heat, he knew Aichi didn't. Something told him he would have to keep an eye on him.

But aside from that, Kai was filled with many emotions swirling inside him the moment he laid eyes on the blue haired boy; neither one stronger than the other. A part of him wanted to rush over and hold him close, another wanting to keep as much distance as possible, and another unsure how to act. He was conflicted by his emotions, which was rather unusual for him. He never really cared for anything or anyone before; why was Aichi so special?

"Well, we've got our stuff packed and in the trunk," Tsukiko spoke up, snapping Kai out of his thoughts, "All we need to do now is wait for those two."

Kai's eyes widened. When she meant 'those two', she couldn't possibly be referring to…! His suspicions were confirmed the moment he heard a couple of familiar voices making their way towards them. He groaned silently as he caught sight of Morikawa and Izaki.

"Why are those two here?" he whispered to Miwa.

The blond continued to smile; his eyes gleaming with confidence. "If we're gonna get you and Aichi back together, we're gonna need some help." he whispered back. "Trust me. I've got this."

As soon as the two males made it to the van, they noticed Kai, causing Morikawa to start shouting at him like usual. Kai just stood there, paying him no mind. He didn't want to deal with him right now, wanting to focus more on the reason he decided to come along. Aichi helped Izaki calm Morikawa down until the raven haired male gave in and began conversing with the other two males. It was clear from Aichi's actions and how he would avert his gaze whenever he and Kai made eye contact that he was deliberately trying to avoid the older male, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. Kai found himself wondering if maybe it was a mistake for him to come. However, he had come this far. He might as well see the whole bet through to the end or he'll never hear the end of it.

While the others were doing their own things, Miwa helped Tsukiko with putting the last of the bags into the trunk. The older woman looked over at the group before back at her son. "Those two don't exactly look like they want anything to do with each other."

Miwa smiled. "Not to worry, Mom." he assured her. "You've seen it for yourself; the resort we're going to is said to work wonders on relationships. I wouldn't be surprised if they get back together by the time the day is over."

Tsukiko crossed her arms. "Well if they don't, you're the one who'll be punished."

The blond male snapped his head over in the older woman's direction; eyes widened. "What do you mean by that? Punishment for failing?"

"More like punishment for disobeying your mother and acting without her permission. Not to mention sticking your head where it doesn't belong."

"... Okay, those sounds more like valid reasons."

And so, Miwa had even more of an incentive to get Kai and Aichi back together, not only to help the two of them, but also because the blond didn't want to end up grounded. With everything in the minivan and ready to go, everyone got in and Tsukiko, who was sitting in the driver's seat, turned on the ignition and they were on their way to the resort.

Little did they know that someone had been watching them.

After their defeat against Tsukiko, Kyou and his men had been plotting their revenge. It was only by coincidence that they ended up seeing her with the van as they were searching random places to find her. How lucky they were that Aichi was also with her! However, the man who accompanied Aichi almost everywhere was there too. With both of them at Aichi's side, there was no way they could retrieve him. As soon as the van began driving away, they came out from their hiding spot.

"Well, now what do we do?" the blond henchman asked.

"Didn't they say they were going to a resort?" the brunet henchman pointed out. "They weren't very specific on the location and even if they were, we have no means of transportation. Looks like we'll have to wait until they get back."

Kyou growled. "I refuse to spend another day sitting on our asses when we could be spending it retrieving the prince like we're supposed to! It's already been half a month! Time will fly by before we know it and then we'll lose our chance to return to the Cloudlands!"

"But we can't do anything if we don't where they're let alone have an method of tracking them down."

"We still have one way…" Kyou ran into a dark section of the street. As soon as he couldn't be seen by any passerbys, he let out his wings; its colour blending beautifully with the shade he was hiding in. Both of Kyou's comrades stared wide eyed at their leader.

"Boss, what are you thinking?!" the brunet cried out, "You know better than anyone we have to hide our identities as winged beings!"

"Just so long as we're careful and don't get spotted, no one will learn of our existence." Kyou replied. "If we keep an eye on the prince and his companions from high up, we can keep hidden as well as follow them and see we're going. It's risky, but at this point we have no choice but to take it or kiss our lives in the Cloudlands goodbye permanently! You with me? I plan to go whether you chickens decide to come along or not!"

The other two males stared at each other before looking back at Kyou and sighing. "We don't have much of a choice, do we? Besides, we're always here to serve you Boss, and we will never abandon you for anything!"

It was clear on the silver haired male's face that he was touched by their sentiments. A man could feel like he's king of the world with companions as loyal as them. He smiled. "You guys are the best. What are we waiting for?! Let's get that prince together!" With that said, Kyou's comrades ran into the shade, let out their wings, and with Kyou leading, the three of them followed the minivan to the resort.

XxXxX

An hour had passed since they hit the road. Tsukiko was focused with driving, making sure they were going the right way. Miwa, sitting in the passenger seat, was reading the map, helping Tsukiko with the directions. Morikawa and Izaki, who were sitting in the very back, were chatting amongst themselves over their excitement of going to the resort, sometimes getting Aichi's attention to join them in conversation. For the most part however, the blue haired boy remained silent, staring out the window. Kai did the same thing as Aichi, though he would sometimes look over at the winged male. After doing it enough times, the brunet could feel cerulean eyes glancing over at him from time to time. Whenever their eyes met, they would avert their gaze and pretend like it never happened.

One thing was for sure; the air between those two was very awkward.

After some time had passed, they finally reached the resort. The building was that of a traditional Japanese style with beige walls and a dark grey tiled roof. Despite it being big, there was not a lot of people roaming around. Once they were parked, the group got out of the car and made their way to the building. As they were walking, Morikawa finds himself unable to control himself as he feels the need to find the nearest washroom. He pushes past Aichi and runs inside. Aichi, unable to keep his balance, falls to his right. Before he's able to hit the ground, Kai had managed to make it to the blue haired male and catch him. Aichi looked up to see that he was in Kai's arms. He pulled himself out and turned away from him, muttering a small "Thank you" before rushing to catch up to the others. Kai let out a disappointed sigh as he trailed behind.

After they signed in, they went to their rooms to put their bags away. Tsukiko could only afford two rooms, so after much debating, it was agreed that Tsukiko and Miwa, who were family, would share one room and the others would share another room. Once their bags were put away, they went to check the view from the balcony. They could easily see the beach from there, stretching around the emerald green ocean as far as it can. Aichi was mesmerized by the sight; a view so foreign that reminded him that he was in a different world.

"I never thought I would ever get to see the ocean…" he sighed dreamily.

"Have you never been to the ocean before?" Izaki asked.

Aichi shook his head. "We don't live near any where I come from."

With that, the conversation ended. After that, Aichi stayed on the balcony to fully take in the sights. Kai simply laid on the tatami mat floor, taking a small nap. The other boys took it as an opportunity to discuss the plan.

"At best, we need to get them back together by the end of the day." Miwa explained. "But even if we fail today, we have tomorrow. If we don't get them back together by the end of tomorrow, it's all over."

Morikawa crossed his arms. "Why is it such a big deal anyway?" he asked. "While I hate seeing Aichi all bummed out like this, I could care less regarding Kai. Why do I need to help a jerk like him?"

"Why did you agree to come along if you weren't gonna help them?" Izaki asked.

"I can't say no to a free trip. I plan to have my fun here and that's it! I won't be a part of this!" Morikawa was about to walk away.

Miwa sighed in an exaggerated way. "In that case, you'll never get to challenge Kai to anything ever again."

That got the raven haired male's attention as he stopped. "What do you mean?"

The blond had to hold back a victorious smile as he continued. "Well, Kai and I made a bet on whether or not we can help him and Aichi make up, and if we are unable to before time is up, we're not allowed to bother him anymore, no matter the reason."

Upon hearing that, Morikawa began fuming; his eyes filled with fiery rage as he stormed back. "What gives him the right to decide whether I can talk to him or not?! That fucking coward! Fine then! If getting him back together with Aichi is all it takes to fix his attitude, then I'll get them back together goddammit!"

And so, the three of them began to come up with a plan. After he managed to calm down, Morikawa seemed to be taking over the operation, claiming that out of the three of them, he was the expert of matchmaking. Izaki asked him the last time he participated in matchmaking and succeeded but the raven haired male refused to answer. After much discussing, they knew what to do. All that was left was to tell Kai about the plan.

The entire group went to the beach, as suggested by Miwa as it was the first step of the plan. It was rather crowded; many groups of friends, family, and lovers taking up most of the space, but in no way was it an inconvenience. While Aichi was distracted with helping Tsukiko set up their spot, the rest of the boys went off so they were alone as they revealed the plan to Kai.

"So," Miwa began, clasping his hands together with a confident smile, "The three of us talked it over and we decided to go with Izaki's plan."

Izaki blushed as he scratched his head. "It came to me when Aichi brought up he had never seen the ocean before."

Morikawa let out a loud huff as he crossed his arms. "I still think my plan was the best."

Miwa narrowed his eyes at the other male. "Where would we get an airplane, skydiving gear, ten tigers, twenty rings lit on fire, a bucket of solid ice, and fireworks that say 'I love you Aichi'?"

"At least my idea is creative."

Kai was about to question Morikawa's idea, but decided not to in fear of his own sanity. "Can we get to the point?" he spoke up, getting rather impatient with the bickering.

"Basically," Izaki spoke up, "What if you collected some seashells and gave them to him?"

The spiky haired brunet raised an eyebrow. "Seashells?"

It was Miwa's turn to speak. "It's as Izaki says. Aichi has never gone to the ocean before, right? It's possible he might have never seen some real seashells. It's the perfect way to get this romantic ball going! Collect some seashells, present them to him, maybe throw in some cute little trivia to show how knowledgeable you are, and he'll be throwing himself in your arms!"

"I don't think it'll be that easy…"

"Well, it's the best we got right now. Are you in?"

Kai looked over at each of the three males; each with their own expressions. Both Miwa and Izaki were hoping for Kai to say yes, Morikawa still annoyed that his idea was not chosen. Kai sighed. "... I don't really have a choice, do I?"

And with that, they set out on their plan. Both Morikawa and Izaki were dressed in their swimming trunks. Kai and Miwa however for their own individual reasons kept their casual clothes on but took off their shoes and rolled up their pant legs so they don't get wet for standing at the edge of the ocean. Good thing this beach was one of those they could go swimming in if they so wanted to.

Meanwhile, Aichi was enjoying himself delving in conversation with Tsukiko under the parasol they set up. The blonde woman was discussing some of the plans she had with the costumes for the play. As the conversation continued, Tsukiko noticed that Aichi's smile was diminishing as he appeared deep in thought.

"Is something wrong, sweetie?" she asked, snapping the younger male back to reality.

The blue haired male tried to force a smile. "Yes, I'm fine."

But the older woman didn't believe it. She sighed. "If something is on your mind, don't be afraid to say it. I'm willing to listen to whatever is troubling you."

"Thank you, Miss Tsukiko." Aichi replied. "I truly appreciate it. But really, I'm fine."

Once again, Tsukiko didn't believe the younger male's words, but decided to let it go this time, as she could see that he was going to tell her no matter how much she insisted. She tried to think of something else to talk about when his eyes caught sight of something.

"What are they doing over there?"

Aichi looked over to see what Tsukiko was talking about. Miwa and Morikawa appeared to be arguing about something as Izaki tried to calm them down and Kai, with a bucket in hand, was just observing. The two hyperactive males then charged over at Kai, showing him something. The brunet, seemingly annoyed with both of them, grabbed both of the things from the other two male's hands and dropped them in the bucket before criticizing them. Aichi had no idea what was going on. Why was the usually antisocial male hanging around the others?

And why didn't they ask Aichi if he wanted to join them?

He felt awkward being around Kai at the moment. That much was obvious. Even so, he would be able to put up with it. He still had no idea why Kai was hanging around with them though. Was that the reason why Aichi wasn't invited? So many thoughts came swirling in his head, trying to figure out what was going on.

While that was going on, Tsukiko noticed Aichi's expression changed as soon as he saw the other boys. It was clear just looking at him that he felt left out. She let out an inaudible sigh. Those boys were trying to solve one problem while inadvertently creating another one. She knew she'd have to deal with it, but if what happened earlier was any indication, Aichi would tell her not to worry about it. She'd have to wait for a chance when the blue haired boy was not looking.

With all four boys working together, they had collected enough seashells to give to Aichi. Miwa handed his phone to Kai to do some quick research on seashells, and as soon as he had read enough, it was time to execute their plan. First, they needed to lure Tsukiko away so Kai could be alone with Aichi. After that, the plan will go as previously discussed. Miwa went over to where Tsukiko and Aichi were sitting while Morikawa and Izaki went to hide.

"Hey, Mom?" the blond male spoke up as soon as he reached the two. "There's something I need to discuss with you privately. Could you quickly come with me for just a moment, please?"

The older woman smiled. "What a coincidence." she replied. "I have something I need to discuss with you too." Tsukiko excused herself, telling Aichi she shouldn't be long and left with Miwa to the hiding spot the other two males were, leaving the blue haired boy alone.

It was time for Kai to make his move.

This was it! He took a deep breath and walked over to where the blue haired male sat. "Hey, Aichi."

Aichi looked up at him, a little startled at first. He was still in his own thoughts before Kai spoke up. Their eyes met for a few seconds before the younger male averted his gaze once again. "Hey."

The air around them was tense. Neither spoke for a little bit; Kai unsure of what to say and Aichi wanting to say as little as possible. Only the sounds of the waves crashing and the chatter and laughter of the many people around them could be heard. If neither of them said something soon, things would be more awkward. With nothing he could come up with, Kai just shoved the bucket of seashells at Aichi and simply said "Here."

Aichi was taken aback by the older male's sudden action. He looked into the bucket and saw the seashells. He took one out and examined it; the colours very bright and eye catching, even more so under sunlight. He meekly looked up at the brunet. "You got these for me?"

It was Kai's turn to avert his gaze. "You've never seen seashells before, right?"

The blue haired male let out a little smile. "... And the others? They were helping you?"

"Look, if you don't want them-!"

"No, that's not what I meant at all." Aichi looked back down at the seashells. "Um… thank you."

From a distance within their hiding spot, the other males were cheering, though trying to keep their voices down so as not to give away that they were eavesdropping. Tsukiko stood there with her arms crossed, a little sceptical with how it looked too easy, but a part of her was still holding onto the hope that it worked.

"It's working." said Miwa. "Now he just needs to give out some trivia to show his intelligence and then he'll be golden."

"I just hope that after this, you won't be isolating Aichi in whatever you plan to do next." Tsukiko scolded. "He looked really upset about being left out."

The blond male smiled. "After this, I'm sure he and Kai would like some time alone to themselves."

Back with Aichi and Kai, the latter had noticed for himself that the younger male seemed to look a little at ease with him here. Who would've thought the plan could actually work? He only needed to give out some trivia to impress Aichi even more. He cleared his throat.

"Do you know how seashells came to be?" he began, getting the blue haired male's attention. "Well, a lot of seashells come from these creatures called mollusks."

At that moment, Tsukiko's eyes widened. "Tell me he's not…"

Her worry came true with Kai's next sentence. "And when the mollusks die, their remains either end up eaten by larger animals or they decompose before the shells get whisked away by the tide and end up on beaches."

At that moment, Miwa rushed out of the hiding spot as fast as he could and headed over to where Kai and Aichi were talking, trying to act as calm as possible. "Hey, Kai?" he spoke up as he walked over, getting the attention of the two males. "Can you quickly help me out with something? It will just be for a minute."

Kai didn't know why the very guy who was pushing for him and Aichi to communicate again was trying to stop them from doing that, but he was not happy about it. "Could it wait?" he replied, sounding a little annoyed. "I'm in the middle of-!"

"Now!" Miwa grabbed Kai by the arm and dragged him away, leaving Aichi alone and confused. He kept pulling the brunet until they got to the hiding spot, greeted with many glares.

"What the hell, Kai?!" the blond shouted. "Your idea of a good conversation is dead animals?!"

"You're the one who told me to bring up some trivia." Kai muttered.

"Yes; cute things like the different kinds you can find or the various uses seashells provide, not the fact that they come from dead sea animals! Poor Aichi. He probably doesn't want anything to do with seashells now after that."

The brunet was unsure if that was the case, but he wouldn't doubt it either. Aichi was a gentle soul who was kind to many living creatures so the possibility of him disliking the thought of dead animals isn't that far fetched. However, he didn't seem like he was the type to get overly sensitive on the subject. Either way, the group knew they would have to try something different.

It didn't take them long to come up with a plan B. Tsukiko pushed the idea that the next thing they do is something that doesn't isolate Aichi. That alone produced their next plan. After discussing it, the boys went back to where Aichi sat alone while Tsukiko went back to the resort building where she planned for a nice relaxing bath. She didn't know what they were planning. She refused to listen in as she wanted no part in their schemes.

She just hoped their plan didn't lead to anything stupid.

"Toshiki Kai!" Morikawa shouted after they got back, pointing at the person in question as he initiated the plan. "I challenge you to a game of beach volleyball!"

Kai sighed, knowing it was part of the plan but still found the whole thing annoying. "Why do I have to?"

The raven haired male smirked. "The Great Morikawa was generous enough to help you collect all those seashells. The least you could do is accept my challenge now that you owe me."

"... Fine."

Morikawa laughed in victory. Miwa tapped his shoulder. "I hate to break the news to you, but in order to play beach volleyball, you both need to get partners."

"That's true…" Morikawa walked over to Izaki and linked arms with him. "Izaki is my partner! We are a duo!"

Izaki sighed. "Well, if I have to…"

Aichi sighed. He knew Kai would rather have someone more experienced to be his teammate. The obvious choice would be Miwa. He would be willing to sit out this time. "Well, then I'll-!"

"Oh crap! I forgot!" Miwa cried. "I was supposed to help my mom with… stuff! Looks like Aichi's your teammate, Kai! See ya later!" Before anyone could react, he bolted out of there, leaving Aichi in particular stunned.

Kai looked over at the blue haired male. No doubt he felt confused about the whole situation. The brunet looked over at the duo behind him. "Get the stuff ready. I need to discuss a game plan with my partner." The two nodded, leaving Kai and Aichi alone.

Aichi was snapped out of his thoughts the moment he felt something tap his shoulder. He turned around quickly to see Kai staring down at him. "We're going to be playing soon."

At that point, the winged male realized what was happening and began to panic. "I can't play!" he cried. "I don't even know the rules!"

"I'll teach you."

"But I'm not gonna be that good! I don't want to let you down or anything-!"

"Aichi." Kai grabbed the younger male by the shoulders. "Don't bring yourself down like this. I'm sure you'll do fine."

The blue haired male, startled by the sudden physical contact, was unable to say anything. He didn't feel confident that he could provide the support the older male needed for the game. He felt like he would only be a liability. However, he had no choice. First, he was excluded from seashell collecting and now he was being included in a sport he was unsure he could pull off. He needed to be careful with what he wished for.

Kai proceeded to teach Aichi the rules of the game as well as taught him the different ways of hitting and passing the ball. The latter required more of a hands on approach, as the brunet took the younger male's hands into his own and showed him how they should look by forming the different hand positions. Aichi felt his body burn up as Kai leaned into the blue haired male's back. It made it hard to concentrate on what was being taught to him.

He wasn't the only one flustered. As soon as it had occurred to him what he was doing, Kai could also feel his face burn up. Here he was, nonchalantly closing the distance between the two of them in the guise of teaching him volleyball. There was no reason for him to go the extra mile, as using his own hands would have sufficed. It was like as his body yearned to have Aichi's pressed against his own. He was surprised though that the blue haired male hadn't tried to break free like he did back when they first got to the resort. Was it possible that everything they had been doing working?

As he thought that, an all too familiar scent caught the brunet's attention. He began to feel himself losing control. He let go of Aichi's hands and moved away from him before he did anything he would regret. "Did you get what I taught you?"

Aichi turned around and looked up at the older male; the places where he touched still feeling like they were burning. His only response was a small nod. No words would come out even if he wanted to say something. Kai returned the nod with another nod; this one more curt than Aichi's. The awkwardness between the two returned.

And just when it seemed like there was progress.

It wasn't long until Morikawa and Izaki returned with the supplies. Kai went to help them set up the playing field. Once the net was up and the boundaries were drawn around them, Kai suggested they do a practice run so Aichi can get the hang of the game. Given that it was for Aichi, the other two males agreed.

They began the practice game. Aichi kept tripping or missing the ball and would start to get a little depressed. The others started to wonder if this would really help increase the romance between him and Kai. But Kai was rather quick on that and pulled Aichi to the side.

"I'm sorry, Kai…" said the blue haired male, worried that the older male might be angry at him.

"Why are you apologizing?" Kai asked. "It's only a practice run."

"But…" Aichi lowered his head. "The real game is next… I don't want to let… I mean, you seem so determined to beat Morikawa…"

The brunet ran his fingers through his hand. "I don't necessarily try to win. It just happens. I don't even care about these stupid challenges."

"Then why don't you purposely lose?"

"Because losing on purpose is worse than having to participate in these challenges for eternity. Regardless of who my opponent is, if I don't give it my all, it's disrespectful." He sighed. "Anyways, don't worry too much about whether or not you win. Just give it your all. And if you're not satisfied, I'm sure those two won't mind playing as much as you want to."

Aichi was unsure in how to respond. The only thing he could do was nod. Kai felt rather uneasy. While there were instances where he was able to read him, he couldn't properly read the blue haired male's mind entirely. What did Aichi think of him this very moment? There was no way he had already forgiven him for the bite; he would be crazy to do that. But were they back on good terms again?

"Hey!" Morikawa shouted, breaking the brunet out of his thoughts. "Are we gonna play or not?"

"Yeah, we're coming!" Kai shouted back, annoyed. With that, they returned to the field and began playing the game for real.

The real game went on better than the practice run. Aichi still had his fumbles and still had moments where he was disheartened, but he was able to play slightly better and it didn't affect him as badly. Even so, it felt like it wouldn't have mattered if he was Kai's partner in the field or not, for the older male was good enough that he could play enough for two people if that was allowed and they were in the lead slightly. He never hogged the ball for himself though and he would always give Aichi the chance to get a point for their team, though it usually resulted with Morikawa or Izaki hitting the ball back, scoring a point for themselves.

After a bit of playing, both teams were tied, and the next point was to determine the winner. The game started to get intense; both Kai and Morikawa refusing to back down. The ball kept going back and forth with a lot of force, waiting for someone to slip up.

As the ball made its way to Kai, the brunet noticed with the way it was coming at him, he wouldn't be able to hit it back. He would have to pass it to Aichi. He worried on how the younger male would react upon being responsible on the outcome of the match, but he knew there was no time to hesitate. Calling Aichi, he passed the ball over to him.

And then it happened.

As Kai began passing the ball in the blue haired male's direction, he briefly noticed Aichi standing frozen on the field in a neutral stance. He regretted passing the ball to Aichi at first, fearing that he might have terrified him. Not only that, but the ball was going up so high, even if Aichi was his normal self, he wouldn't be able to hit the ball back. But as he looked closer, he noticed Aichi's eyes were glowing again. For what reason were they glowing? Usually it would be whenever he is absorbing how people who speak a different language or animals speak, allowing him to understand them, but for what purpose did it serve here? And more importantly, were Morikawa and Izaki able to see it?

Suddenly, Aichi looked up at the ball with a blank stare and jumped. As he jumped, he let out his wings and flew up until he was high enough to hit the ball. Kai panicked upon seeing Aichi's wings out, but then he noticed how his wings were hidden by the sunlight, blinding anyone who looked up at him.

And the sun wasn't the only thing blinding. Aichi's hand also began to glow as he spiked the ball. The ball, upon making contact with the winged male's hand, began to glow as it rapidly made its way to the other half of the field. It moved so fast that neither Morikawa and Izaki could counter. Upon hitting the sandy ground, the ball stopped glowing, appearing as nothing more than a normal volleyball.

Kai and Aichi had won the match.

Aichi landed back onto the ground; his wings once again hidden. As his feet touched the ground, like he had been woken up by a trance, his eyes stopped glowing and he appeared rather confused as to what happened.

Despite losing, Morikawa was not angry like he usually was. Rather, he was impressed by what had just happened. Izaki was too. Both cheered from behind the net, causing Aichi to be even more confused. Kai couldn't believe his eyes either, but just stood there, unable to contain the biggest smile he ever had in the last ten years. While he was concerned with the fact that the younger male let out his wings despite trying to be in hiding, he was proud that not only was his cover not blown, but that in the eyes of the others, Aichi did something incredible.

But that smile didn't stay on his face for long, for Aichi's body began to sway as he was about to fall down. Kai didn't hesitate to rush to his side and catch him before the younger male hit the ground. It appeared that Aichi had fainted. As if it was an unspoken agreement, the three males took Aichi back to the resort.

Luck hit them as they bumped into Miwa and Tsukiko inside. After the boys explained what had happened, the blonde woman suggested that they take Aichi back to the room and she would catch up to check his condition. The boys complied and, with Miwa accompanying them, they went back to their room. They gently placed Aichi into one of the futons that was already set up for them and made sure he was comfortable, then they waited for Tsukiko to show up.

She showed up a few minutes later, carrying a face towel and a bowl of water. After she checked Aichi's condition, she placed the face towel soaked with water onto the young boy's forehead. Once she was done, she let out a deep, exasperating sigh.

"What were you thinking?" she snapped, making sure to keep her voice down as to not disturb the sleeping boy beside her. "Beach volleyball? With the clothes he's wearing? It's not as bad as it could've been, but I would've thought you would've taken that into consideration before making your plan." She glared at Kai. "Especially you, Toshiki. You have high resistance against heat, but not everyone is like you."

Kai lowered his head. He knew she wasn't trying to hurt him, but the moment she said that, he was reminded of the sad truth; he wasn't like everyone else. As much as he wanted to believe he was no different from them, his actions constantly proved otherwise. Wanting some time to himself, he left the room without a word. Miwa, worried for his best friend, followed after him.

"So," Izaki spoke up, "Are you saying Aichi has just fainted from the heat?"

Tsukiko gave both him and Morikawa a reassuring smile. "Yes, it was the heat. He'll be fine in a little while. I'd suggest that if you decide on another plan, you try something that doesn't overexert him." Both males nodded before exiting the room, leaving the older woman alone with an unconscious Aichi.

She let out another sigh. She had lied that Aichi fainted from the heat. Her medical expertise saw none of the other common symptoms associated with heat exhaustion aside from fainting. She had her own idea of what had happened based on what she was told, but was not one hundred percent certain. She waited until the younger male woke up, finding out for sure if her theory was correct or not.

An hour had passed when Aichi regained consciousness. His sight was blurry at first, but it didn't long to adjust, and he realized he was back at his room in the resort. He stayed in the position he was in as he recalled what had happened. He was playing beach volleyball with the others. That was all he could remember. What had happened to cause him to pass out?

"Glad to see you're awake."

Aichi looked over to see Tsukiko sitting behind him, her cell phone in hand. She gave him a gentle smile. Aichi slowly sat up. He looked around. "Where's everyone else?"

"They went off to do their own thing." the older woman replied, staring down at her cell phone as she was doing something with it. "I just sent a message to Taishi letting him know you're awake. He'll be passing the message on to the others."

The blue haired male frowned. "I'm sorry I caused you all so much trouble…"

Tsukiko gave him a good pat on the back. "Don't worry about it, sweetie." she chirped. "Rather, I blame the other boys for pushing you into that situation." Her expression changed into a more serious one as she continued on. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Just the fact that I was playing volleyball with the others."

"I heard that you scored the win for you and Toshiki. They said you hit that ball like a pro."

Aichi's eyes widened. "What?! Me?! No, there's got to be a mistake! I only just started playing the game today! I couldn't have done something like that!"

Tsukiko's frown deepened. "So you don't remember anything like that happening?" The younger male shook his head. That proved it. Her intuition was right. "So, you also have 'the power'..."

"Did you say something, Miss Tsukiko?" Aichi asked, as he was unable to hear what she had muttered.

The blonde woman just smiled. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it." She stood up. "Anyways, Taishi and the others will be back any minute. You should take this time to relax while you've got some peace and quiet. I can imagine things are going to get rather rowdy afterward."

Aichi looked up at her with confusion. "You're heading off?"

"I've got some things I need to do." Tsukiko replied. "Besides, I'd imagine you'd want some time to think things over and make up your mind on something you're conflicted about."

"... Is it that obvious?"

"Not really. I'm just a very perceptive woman." She gave him a wink.

The blue haired boy lowered his head. "... Can I ask you something? If… you were in my position, what would you do?"

"I would give you my answer, but the fact of the matter is we are two different people. My answer would probably conflict with what you might consider doing."

"But what if I don't know what to do?"

Tsukiko gave a melancholic smile. "If you want my advice, I would advise you ask yourself why you are conflicted in the first place. I think doing that would lead you a step closer to finding your answer." With no words left to be said, the older woman exited the room, leaving the blue haired male to his thoughts.

As soon as she was out of the room, her serious expression returned. She was starting to piece together what was happening; the Black Winged Clan chasing after Aichi, Aichi's powers. She was worried that Kai would get himself dragged into this mess. No, it was clear that he already was. Her worry grew to terror. She had to get into contact with her son. She took out her phone once again and sent him another text, telling him to meet her outside.

Half an hour after she sent the text, Miwa went outside and found his mother standing on the veranda. "Is something up, Mom?"

Tsukiko glimpsed over at him before looking away; her expression rather sullen. "... I want you to call off the bet."

Blue eyes widened as the blond male stood there shocked. "Call off the… I can't do that! We might actually be close to getting those two back together!"

"That's exactly the problem."

Miwa glared at her. "Look, I get that you are worried about Kai's safety-!"

"I know what the Black Winged Clan are after."

Silence surrounded the two. As soon as she knew she had her son's attention, she continued. "Aichi didn't collapse from heat exhaustion. From both sides of the story, it's clear as day; Aichi is like me, one of the few chosen by the Cloudlands."

"And you think they are after him because of that?" Miwa asked. "But then if they are after those with the power, wouldn't that mean you're in danger too?"

Tsukiko lowered her head. "That is possible. I have crossed paths with them; they should know who I am."

"Then why the hell are you worried about Kai when you should be worried about yourself?!"

"Because even if they reach their full potential, they will never defeat me. But Aichi and Toshiki are another story. The fact that Aichi collapsed after using the power in its strongest form proves he is not properly experienced with it yet, which is understandable as it seems he is unaware of his own power. And Toshiki… well, that is self-explanatory."

Miwa crossed his arms. "I think the fact that they have been able to escape them numerous times proves they can hold their own against them."

"But the amount of instances where they have either collapsed or gotten injured proves that they can't hold their own against them forever. If Toshiki continues to stay at Aichi's side, he will get himself hurt… or worse…"

"... Well either way," said Miwa, "I'm not calling the bet off. I believe in those two. And besides, I think we have enough time to come up with a way to deal with the Black Winged Clan. I doubt they know we're here at this resort. Also, you said that I'm grounded if Kai and Aichi don't get back together and I kinda don't wanna risk that."

Tsukiko gave him a warning scowl. "Taishi…"

"Just trust me, Mom. I'm not gonna let anything bad happen to Kai. I'll be keeping a close eye on him." With that said, he left the veranda and went back inside, leaving the older woman alone to herself.

A long sigh escaped ruby lips as she leaned against the railing. "That boy is quite a handful; trying to play cupid." she mused. Her expression returned to a sullen one. "He's acting a lot like I was when I was his age." She let out a melancholic chuckle as she returned to her thoughts.

XxXxX

Plan C of the plan to get Kai and Aichi back together; a romantic dinner. While exploring, the boys found out that the dining room at the resort included a karaoke machine where the guests could sing in front of each other. That gave them the idea of the romantic dinner. Kai and Aichi would be sitting at a table beside each other while Miwa, Morikawa, and Izaki would provide the most romantic music to set them in the mood, though Kai emphasized that they choose subtle romantic songs so as not to give away the plan. It was the perfect plan.

Or at least it was supposed to be.

As Miwa returned from his talk with his mom, he bumped into Izaki outside the dining room, who had been waiting for the blond to come back.

"Finally, you're here!" Izaki cried as soon as he saw him.

"How's the plan going?" Miwa asked, immediately getting a feeling that he was going to regret asking in the next few seconds.

"Morikawa went up to sing." was all he said before he opened the door, letting out the sound that was contained in the room.

The teenage male in question was standing on stage singing some sort of love song, sounding like a screeching turkey. The entire room was booing at him, yelling at him to get off the stage while throwing food at him. From their table, both Kai and Aichi remained silent; Kai had his hand on his forehead rubbing his temple, and Aichi, though trying to be nice, had his shoulders hunched up, showing that he too was cringing at the raven haired male's singing.

Miwa facepalmed. "Why didn't he tell us he couldn't sing?"

"You think Morikawa of all people is going to admit he's terrible at something?" Izaki asked.

"Good point." Wasting no more time, they rushed to the stage, grabbed Morikawa, and pulled him off the stage and out the room, receiving applause from the audience.

After Morikawa was forced out of the room, there was an awkward silence between Kai and Aichi. What could they say after that show? He cleared his throat, not wanting the silence to linger any longer.

"So…" he finally spoke up, "Are you enjoying it here?"

Aichi jumped upon hearing the brunet speak. He gave him a small glance before looking down at the table. "Oh, it's… fun so far…"

"That's good…" The awkward silence returned. Kai mentally cursed. He couldn't think of how else to continue the conversation. Where was Miwa when he needed him?

As if on cue, Miwa walked back in, giving the two a grin before waiting in line for his turn to sing. Kai felt somewhat relieved, but was still worried the blond would still do something to embarrass him. He knew that Miwa was a pretty good singer so it wasn't going to be a trainwreck like Morikawa's singing was. Even so, he braced himself for what was to come.

It was eventually Miwa's turn to sing. He got up on the stage, grabbed the mic, and as soon as the music began, he began to sing. Kai frowned upon hearing the song. The lyrics… they were obvious matchmaking lyrics. The brunet slammed his head on the table. Didn't his friend know what the term 'subtlety' meant? With this, Aichi was sure to catch on to what they were doing.

As soon as the song ended, the audience gave a round of applause for the performance. Miwa gave a bow before he walked off the stage. When he reached the table, he was greeted by a glare from his usually stoic friend. Aichi on the other hand was smiling, being a part of the people that applauded.

"That was great, Miwa!" he cheered. "You are a great singer!"

Miwa sat down, smiling at the blue haired male's compliment. "Thanks, Aichi. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Do you do a lot of singing?" Aichi continued. "I bet that's why Miss Tsukiko wanted you as Draco instead of Kai."

"I don't think that was what she was thinking then. Besides, if we're going by singing talent, I think Kai is the better singer." At that moment, blue eyes sparkled as an idea popped into his head. He looked over at Kai, who was still glaring at him. The blond's smile turned into a giant grin, giving his friend a bad feeling that he was going to be pulled into something stupid. "In fact, I would actually like to hear Kai sing right now."

"Absolutely not." Kai replied, instantly regretting this plan.

But Miwa continued. "What's the big deal? You were going to sing anyways when you agreed to play Draco for Mom's production."

"This and that are two different things."

"Aichi, help me out here!" the blond cried, hoping for the younger male to take his side.

The blue haired male frowned. "I don't think someone should be forced into something they don't want to do." he replied. He lowered his head. "I know I'd hate that if someone did that to me…"

At that moment, Kai felt a pang of guilt. He didn't outright say it, but it was clear that that was pointed towards the brunet. Hit with a determined resolve, he stood up from his seat and left the table. Both Aichi and Miwa watched as he walked away, heading towards the line to the stage. He was doing it. He was actually going on stage to sing. Both males were surprised to see him go through with it, though neither knew why he changed his mind.

As soon as it was his turn, Kai picked out the song he was going to sing before he walked onto the stage, grabbed the mic, and stared at the groups of people staring at him. At that moment, he was starting to have second thoughts about singing in front of all these people.

But then teal eyes met with cerulean among the many and his determination returned. He wanted those cerulean eyes to look at him with love and admiration again like they did before. This entire time, he wasn't taking any major risks. Sure, he collected seashells and looked up trivia to present to the winged prince, and he taught him how to play beach volleyball and even gave him some words of encouragement, but they were trivial things compared to what he was going to do. He was going to go up and humiliate himself in front of an entire crowd just to convey how deep his feelings were. If this didn't work, then he believed nothing would. As the first few notes of the song played, he took a deep breath and took the plunge.

Miwa wasn't exaggerating about Kai's singing talent. Hearing it for himself, Aichi could not take his eyes off the brunet as his deep, baritone voice hit every note perfectly in a beautiful melody. And it wasn't just the sound; as he sang the song (which appeared to be a love ballad), Kai's voice perfectly conveyed the emotions woven in the lyrics, like the words matched how he felt with his heart.

And he wasn't wrong to believe so. With this song, Kai wanted these feelings of love to reach the blue haired male, to apologize for the things he had done to hurt him. His voice carried into the mic and through the speakers, echoing across the room, touching the hearts of everyone who dared to listen. The multicoloured lights above him danced along the melody, painting a beautiful picture with both sight and sound.

It was then that something pierced into Aichi's heart, causing tears to well up in the corners of his eyes. Without a word, he got up from his seat and rushed out the room, running past Morikawa and Izaki on the way out. Just as that happened, the song reached its conclusion. The audience cheered, calling for an encore, but Kai could not feel happy. Ignoring the voices that surrounded him, he walked off the stage, his steps as heavy as his heart. Miwa could only watch his friend walk off in shame, blaming himself for supposedly making it worse.

Plan C had failed.

As soon as Kai returned to the table, Miwa suggested that they think of their next plan. The brunet's response caught his friend off guard.

"Why should we bother?"

Miwa frowned. First his mom and now his best friend. He seemed to be surrounded by pessimistic people today. "We're so close to get you and Aichi back together. Come on, Kai! This'll all be meaningless if you give up now!"

"We've tried three times already."

"This time for sure!"

"Forget it!"

The blond sighed. "If you are sure you are ready to give up, humour me with one last plan. If it ends up not working, then that's it. We won't do anything else and you win the bet. Just one more."

Kai wanted to reject that offer completely. His heart was already shattering in pieces; he didn't need anything to damage it any more. But then he saw the look in his friend's eyes. They were desperate with a little sparkle of hope. They were eyes that wouldn't give up until they had their own way. He had no other choice.

He let out a long, drawn out sigh. "... This one will be the last."

Miwa smiled. "You won't regret it, Kai!" He then got up from his seat and rushed out the door, bumping into the two males outside and discussing the next plan.

The brunet let out another sigh as he rested his head on his hand propped up on the table with his arm. "I'm pretty sure I will."

XxXxX

The evening sky was the most radiant he had seen in his entire life. The blend of violet and orange meshed together created a soothing and rather serene picture. Combined with its reflection on the ocean, it was a magical sight.

And yet despite staring at something so beautiful, his heart was hurting.

Aichi stood on the path leading to the beach, hands gripped on the railing as he stared at the sight before him. There was less people on the beach now; a group of teenagers getting ready to play with sparklers and a few couples acting lovey dovey with each other as they watched the sunset.

It only intensified the blue haired male's pain.

His head was clouded with confusion and Kai's recent actions didn't help. He needed to clear his head, but staring at the beach wasn't helping. What could he do? How could he get the pain to stop? What did he do whenever he needed to cheer himself up?

A gentle breeze brushed up against Aichi, blowing through his hair, his clothes, his entire body, carrying with it the scent of the ocean. His attention was then drawn to the sky above him, where he heard the seagulls caw as they flew past him.

"Flying is a wonderful feeling! As you're flying, it feels like your troubles flow through you like the breeze."

As those words rang through his mind, Aichi leaned forward against the railing, closing his eyes as he pretended he was flying in the sky among the birds, since he couldn't do it for real given his circumstances, embracing the breeze that blew through him.

As he was flying in his imagination, a hand clasped over his; rough and cold to the touch just like from his dream. He turned to look at the face of the newcomer and found himself at a loss for words.

It really was the silhouetted man from his dream. Like before most of his body was covered in silhouette, but this time it was a little different. Not only did he have red wings like what was shown near the end of his dream, but he could now see his eyes; gold, lizard like eyes. These eyes weren't like the eyes Kai's turned into. These eyes were kinder and more loving, sparkling with unwavering confidence. Staring into those eyes, Aichi could feel himself melt into the silhouetted man's arms, putting all his trust into him as they partook in a waltz in the sky.

"Flying truly is a wonderful feeling, isn't it?" the silhouetted man whispered sensually into Aichi's ear.

Cerulean eyes widened. His voice; it sounded so familiar. He tried to remember where he heard it, but he was so relaxed in the embrace of the silhouetted man's arms and the rhythm of the dance that nothing could come to him.

"Please, tell me who you are." Aichi asked, staring into the gold eyes. The silhouetted man didn't reply. Instead, he continued to whisk the young prince away high up in the sky.

"Aichi…" the silhouetted man whispered once again, his hot breath burning against the skin on the blue haired male's nape, on the same spot where Kai had bit. So many mysteries surrounded him.

Who was he?

"Aichi…"

Where did he come from?

"Aichi…?"

And why did it feel like they had known each other for a long time?

"Aichi!"

Aichi jumped at the sound of his name being called, returning him to reality. He turned towards the direction of the voice to see Miwa standing there, looking worried.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "I called out to you a few times, but you didn't respond."

The younger male gave the blond a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. Sorry, I was deep in thought. What's going on?"

Miwa returned to having his normal, cheerful grin. "The guys and I came up with another fun activity to do. We should probably go meet up with them!"

For a brief moment, Aichi's smile turned into a frown before turning into an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Miwa, but I'm going to have to turn down that invitation. I'm a little tired."

Blue eyes widened. "But trips to places like this are things that need to be enjoyed in full!"

"You still can. You can just do it without me."

"It wouldn't be as fun if you aren't there!"

"You seemed to have fun collecting seashells without me."

Miwa scratched his head. "Y-Yeah, but that was different! This activity requires that you participate with us!"

Aichi crossed his arms. "Because then you can't act out your plan for me and Kai to reconcile, right?"

There was silence as the breeze blew past them. Neither male spoke a word for a short while. After a bit of time had past, Miwa broke the silence with a nervous chuckle, a sheepish grin replacing his normally cheerful one. "I'm guessing you caught on, huh?"

"It became obvious during dinner." Aichi replied. He let out a sigh. "I appreciate what you're doing, but I need a little bit of time to myself." He began to walk away.

"You say that, but deep down you're begging for Kai to come to your rescue."

Aichi stopped in his tracks. He turned around and faced Miwa, who's expression had become more serious. The blue haired male let out an uncomfortable chuckle. "What are you talking about? Begging him to come rescue me? I'm not in any danger."

"Not in the physical sense, no," the older male continued, "But rather it is your heart that's in turmoil."

"I really don't know what you mean by that."

The blond male walked forward, closing the distance between them. "I've known Kai practically my entire life. And although I don't know what goes on in his head, I just look into his eyes and I see someone crying for help; yearning for someone to share his pain and ease the burden off his shoulders, to hold him and love him and assure him that he isn't alone, even if he himself will refuse to admit it. He's a broken man, Aichi, and he needs a little push to fully admit that.

"Sadly, neither my mom or I can provide him that comfort. Our efforts to console him… well, they fall on deaf ears. If there was a person that can, they'd have to be someone who understands him better than anyone else, someone who can provide a change in him just by purely existing. That someone… may as well be as broken as him, and need him to be their pillar of support just as he needs them to be his."

Miwa leaned forward, closing the distance between him and Aichi until they were eye to eye. Blue stared at cerulean, examining them so intensely that caused the younger male to feel uncomfortable.

"Aichi," Miwa continued, "Your eyes are the same as his."

Cerulean eyes widened as Aichi took a few steps backwards, trying to put some distance between him and the blond. "Miwa, there's gotta be a mistake! How are Kai and I the same?"

Miwa went back to standing up straight. "How are you both different?"

Aichi was unsure how to answer that. He stumbled with his words, trying to let out something, anything. But he couldn't think of an answer. The blond continued.

"I think you and Kai need to talk with each other; talk about what is troubling the both of you."

"That won't work." said Aichi, averting his gaze. "I already tried to confront him about these things and I…" He didn't say anymore as he brought his hand to his nape.

The older male sighed. "If you're that insistent about it, I won't force you. However, you won't get another chance. Hesitation may result with you and Kai cutting ties with each other for good. Do you really want that?"

Once again, Aichi didn't reply. He just stood there, completely silent, cerulean eyes covered by blue bangs. Miwa took it as a sign that the younger male still didn't want to see Kai. A part of him was rather disappointed, not at Aichi or Kai, but at himself. He realized how pushy he had been with trying to get the two back together. He wouldn't be surprised if this not only made it worse between the two of them, but if it also caused them to dislike him a bit for forcing them.

He had no choice but to give up.

He began to walk away, going to where the others were waiting for him and tell them the bad news. His stomach got twisted in knots as an image of Kai's distraught expression appeared in his mind. He was hesitant to break it to him.

But then he heard footsteps running behind him before slowing down, matching the blond's footsteps. Miwa turned around to see Aichi following him, his head hanging low with his bangs still covering his eyes. The older male stopped, a little unsure if the blue haired male was actually following him or if he was just going the same direction. The moment Aichi stopped as well, he had his answer.

"You're coming with?" Miwa asked. Aichi replied with a small nod. "Are you sure?" Another nod. The older male gave him a gentle smile. "Alright then. Let's meet up with the guys." With that, the two continued to walk in silence.

XxXxX

A bit of a distance away from the resort, a lush evergreen forest stood tall on a large hill. Kai, Morikawa, and Izaki were standing at the entrance of the forest, waiting for Miwa to show up with Aichi. Kai had his hands in his pockets, staring up as the slowly darkening sky. He didn't know what Miwa had planned and Morikawa and Izaki wouldn't tell him anything, but regardless of what it was, he knew it wouldn't work. It was clear that Aichi wanted nothing to do with him anymore. And he couldn't blame him. No one would want to go back to interacting with someone who bit them to the point of bleeding. He knew he wouldn't.

After some time had passed, Miwa had finally shown up with Aichi right behind him. Looking at the blue haired boy, he looked rather uncomfortable being there. Kai hoped that the blond didn't force him to come here.

Making sure Aichi was comfortable with chatting with Morikawa and Izaki, Miwa pulled Kai to the side, making sure they were far enough so the others couldn't hear them, to discuss some things to him. "Alright Kai!" the blond spoke up in enthusiasm. "This is it! This time for sure, you and Aichi are gonna make up!"

Kai looked back over at Aichi, who looked like he was trying to take a smile while talking, before looking back at his friend. "I'm not so sure." the brunet replied. "He looks like he'd rather be anywhere but here." Teal eyes narrowed. "You didn't force him here, did you?"

Miwa, clearly seeing the warning signs in his friend's eyes, shook his head vigorously as he held his hands up in defense. "Of course not! I'm not gonna force anyone to do anything they don't want to! He chose to come here on his free will. And that's not all!"

He gestured for Kai to move closer. The brunet sighed but complied anyway. Miwa brought his mouth close to Kai's ear and whispered: "Aichi knows what we're doing."

Teal eyes widened. Aichi knew?! For how long? The karaoke? Beach volleyball? The seashells? Was it possible he knew from the start? He groaned in embarrassment.

"So think about it." Miwa continued, putting his arm around the brunet. "If he already knows that we're trying to get you both back together and he still came, doesn't it mean that he wants to get back together as well? I only have one piece of advice for you."

"And what's that?" Kai asked.

"Properly talk with him." said Miwa, poking Kai's forehead with each syllable. "Sometimes the best way to restore a relationship is by talking it over and working something out."

Kai grabbed Miwa's arm that was wrapped around him and pulled it off. "I doubt just talking about it is going to solve the problem."

The blond shrugged. "You won't know until you try. I think it's worth giving it a shot. Just try spending the rest of the night without keeping your feelings a secret from him. If something is wrong, you tell him."

The brunet was still sceptical about the whole thing, but after thinking it over, he let out a deep sigh before agreeing to it. With that figured out, they went back to the others. It was time for their last plan to go down.

"Okay, guys!" Miwa began. "Who's ready for... the Test of Courage?"

"Hell yeah!" Morikawa cheered. "Now that's what I'm talking about! The Test of Courage!"

Aichi, though still emotionally numb, looked somewhat confused. "The Test… of Courage?"

"We get split up into pairs and we go through a course at night made to be as scary in order to build up our courage." Izaki explained. "It's almost like going through a haunted house at an amusement park or at school festivals."

"And how do we do a test of courage with only five people?" Kai asked. "Don't we need someone to make the course scary for the pair taking it on?"

Miwa gave him a sly grin. "We didn't forget. You and Aichi are gonna go through the course while we try to scare you."

Kai sighed. So that was his plan. He and Aichi would be forced to take on the Test of Courage and they were to use that time to try to talk and make up. He would complain about it making it too obvious for Aichi to catch on, but it was no longer a big deal since the younger male already knew what was going on.

With everything explained, they began the Test of Courage. Miwa, Morikawa, and Izaki went ahead into the forest to get set up, leaving Kai and Aichi alone to wait for a bit. The time they spent waiting was long and awkward. Neither had any idea of what to say.

As soon as it was time, they began to make their way into the forest, the scent of evergreen taking over their senses. Even as they were walking down the dirt path, neither spoke a single word. There was only silence between them; the only sounds that could be heard was the rustling of leaves as the breeze blew through the trees and the thumping of their footsteps. If neither of them took the initiative soon, then that would be it for them.

Miwa's words echoed in Kai's mind; properly talk with him. If Aichi wasn't going to take the initiative, it was up to him to get the conversation started. He took a deep breath and then began to speak.

"So…" he spoke up, "How are you feeling?"

Aichi kept avoiding eye contact with the brunet. "I'm fine." he replied rather unconvincingly.

Kai frowned. "You don't seem like you are."

The blue haired boy kept silent. It was starting to get on the older male's nerves, but he tried not to lash out. He was trying to reconcile with him, not try to pick a fight with him.

"...Kai?" Aichi spoke up, stopping in his tracks, causing Kai to stop as well. "I think we need to talk."

The older male was surprised. A part of him didn't expect Aichi to be the one to bring it up. He wasn't complaining though. It was easier on him since he had no idea how to bring it up. "We do."

Silence returned as the winged male tried to collect his thoughts, hiding his eyes under his bangs. "Um… so you've been trying to get us back together?"

"...That's right." Kai replied.

Aichi fidgeted with his fingers. "...Even though you kept pushing me away, why do you want me back all of a sudden?"

The brunet's frown deepened. He averted his gaze. He needed to talk with him properly; be honest. "...I missed having you by my side."

"...You do?"

"Yeah…" said Kai. "The bed feels empty without you there."

At that moment, the older male began to regret what he said. Aichi lifted up his head so he and Kai made eye contact; cerulean eyes looking at him with a deadly glare. Kai swore the blue haired male's eyes turned red for a brief moment.

"The bed?!" Aichi snapped. "This is all because you want a sleeping partner back?!"

Kai tried to explain that that wasn't what he meant, but Aichi was so full of rage that he wouldn't listen. He was heartbroken. Out of any reason to want him back, he never imagined Kai would use his inability to sleep properly without him. Anyone would probably be angry about that.

Neither realized that they were being watched.

Hiding behind a bush, Miwa had been observing the situation, seeing how it would go before he did his scare in the Test of Courage. He was caught off guard with Kai's comment. Maybe he should have warned him not to be too honest. He never thought Kai would say anything like that. In fact, he was shocked.

He didn't even know Kai and Aichi already had sex.

Of course, they were talking about Aichi serving as a body pillow for Kai to help him sleep better, but Miwa didn't know that. He was convinced by the sounds of it that the two had sex. He then began to panic. Did they do it with or without protection? His mom would go berserk if it turned out that Kai had impregnated Aichi, given the fact that winged males also had the ability to give birth. Though thinking about it, the bite would make more sense in this context.

Back with Aichi and Kai, their argument was still going on. The younger male kept shouting numerous stuff such as "You only wanted my body!" and other things. Kai kept desperately trying to tell him that wasn't all, but with Aichi constantly interrupting him, it was starting to get on his nerves. Eventually, he couldn't take it.

"Would you please shut up for a bit so I can get what I want to say already?!" Kai yelled.

From behind the bush, Miwa got worried. If Kai got angry, depending on how far things go, it could grow into rage. If what his mom said was true, that would mean the brunet would collapse again. He debated going out there and stopping them from going too far with their argument. As he tried to stand up, his legs gave way and he fell on a sharp stick, causing him to yell in pain.

Both males jumped at the sound, but Aichi got freaked out, subconsciously moving over towards Kai, breaking any distance between them. "What was that?!"

Kai blushed as Aichi pressed against him. Aichi, the same person who greeted the monsters at the haunted house in the amusement park, was clinging to him in fear of something coming. Though to be fair, he was sure the winged male had his own fears. He resisted the temptation to wrap his arms around him, considering they were arguing a few seconds ago. With the lack of distance between them, Kai had gotten another whiff of the younger male's scent. It surprisingly didn't cause him to lose control. Maybe it was the scent of evergreen surrounding them. Had he possibly figured out a way to counteract his lack of control.

But before he could let out a sigh of relief, something else happened. A bunch of images came flashing through his mind, lasting only a second each. He cried out in pain as he clenched onto his head, collapsing onto his knees.

"Kai?!" Aichi cried out, worried about what was happening to the older male. Even when he was angry at someone, he would still worry if something bad was happening to them.

But before he could do anything, Kai, in utter pain, got up and began running off the path through the trees. Aichi chased after him, making sure he didn't hurt himself. Both were gone by the time Miwa recovered from his fall. It was his turn to panic. What had happened? Where did they go? Did they go ahead while he wasn't looking? He ran off, hoping to find them.

XxXxX

Aichi continued to chase Kai through the trees, trying to avoid bumping into any of them (which the blue haired boy found amazing how the older male seemed to know how to avoid them despite not clearly looking where he was going) until they both found themselves outside the forest at a cliff. To Aichi's relief, Kai managed to stop before reaching the edge. As soon as he found himself out of the forest, the images stopped and the brunet's head stopped hurting. With his mind clear, he looked at his surroundings.

The cliff had a great view of the ocean, stretching wide until it touched the sky. There were a few stars, but a chunk of the sky was covered with dark clouds. It looked like it could rain pretty soon. It was a shame it wasn't a clearer evening. He could imagine a clear starry sky above the ocean would look absolutely breathtaking.

He was sure Aichi would love it.

"Are you alright?" the winged male spoke up, getting the older male's attention. Kai looked back at him.

"Yeah. Sorry about that." he replied in an apologetic manner.

Aichi's worry hadn't left his face despite the brunet's assurance. "What had happened?"

Kai was about to say 'It's nothing' but he stopped himself. Miwa's words echoed in his mind once again; just try spending the rest of the night without keeping a secret from him. If something is wrong, you tell him. He wasn't sure if he should considering what had happened with he told the truth not that long ago. It didn't go well. At the same time, he didn't want to deal with Miwa giving him heck for the rest of the trip for only trying once. He sighed.

"I don't know exactly what it is," he began, "But… I saw some images appear in my head. I think they were some of my memories."

The younger male looked confused. "You think?"

"It feels like these events did happen… but this is the first time I've had this memory, that is if I hadn't already recalled it before I forgot."

"What was your memory about?"

Kai tried to dig through his thoughts, recalling the images in his head. "...It was back when I was just a kid. I was in a forest, not like this forest but not too different either. I was there because… I don't know. I was angry about something. But then… I heard someone crying. I went to check it out. There, I saw… a kid who looked slightly younger than me. I wanted to go to them and ask what was wrong, but I was scared about something, I don't know what. Eventually, I went to them… and I tried to cheer them up by making them laugh. And then… they gave me a smile… a beautiful smile."

The brunet felt his heart bang against his chest at the memory of that smile. But then he realized what he doing and looked back at Aichi. The younger male frowned upon hearing that story, deep in thought. Kai began to worry that he may have upset him. Aichi noticed the worry on the other male's face.

"Oh, no! You didn't say anything wrong!" Aichi responded. "But hearing that story it reminds me of a memory of my own."

Teal eyes widened. "You too?!"

Aichi nodded. "It was back when I was only six years old, almost exactly ten years ago thinking about it. I was going somewhere with my father and I ended up getting lost in a forest. I don't remember how though. The worst thing about it was that at the time, I didn't even know how to fly. It's… rather embarrassing. You see, most winged children know how to fly at around four years old. The reason it took me until I was six was because… well, I was actually scared of flying."

"And yet you speak so fondly about flying now…" said Kai.

"Well, one day my whole viewpoint of flying changed forever…" The blue haired boy gasped in realization before his smile grew into a gleeful smile. "I remember now! That day I got lost in the forest! That was the day! That was the day I met him!"

"Him?" Kai questioned. Who was this guy who made Aichi smile like that. He was feeling a little jealous. If only he could make Aichi smile like that…

"As soon as I realized I was lost, I started to think that no one would ever find me and I began to cry. Sadly, I don't remember what he looked like or even his name. All I remember was the fact that he cheered me up by making me laugh and teach me how to fly."

Hearing Aichi talk about his fear memories left a strange feeling in Kai. He noticed there were some similarities to their stories, but the extra details in Aichi's… some of them felt familiar to him. Why was that?

"I don't remember what happened after he taught me how to fly," Aichi continued, "But I remember the exact words he said to motivate me; 'Flying is a wonderful feeling. As you're flying, it feels like your troubles flow through you like the breeze. It's better than anything you could ever experience in your entire life. Have confidence in yourself and you can experience this feeling yourself. Picture your-!"

"Picture yourself like a bird up in the sky." Kai continued what the blue haired boy was about to say. "You've spread your wings and you're flapping them in rhythm with your heartbeat. You go higher and higher until finally you are higher than any cloud in the sky."

His eyes widened in realization of what he just said. He looked back at Aichi, who was just as shocked if not more so. "How did you know that?" the winged male asked in disbelief.

Kai shook his head as he brought his hand to his head. "I don't know." he replied. "I just… seemed to know the words as you were saying them."

Both stood there in silence, unable to comprehend what had just happened. They stayed like that for a few minutes until they heard rumbling in the sky. They looked over towards the ocean as they noticed flashes of lightning in the distance. The sky was darkening; clouds slowly covering up the remaining stars in the sky. The winds grew stronger and the ocean began to make big, violent waves.

A storm was coming.

"We should hurry and find Miwa and the others." Kai suggested. Aichi nodded and the two began to make their way to the forest.

But before they could, a familiar face blocked their way.

"Hey there guys!" Kyou greeted them with a sneer. "Missed me?"

Both of Kyou's men came out behind him. Kai and Aichi had no choice but to back away, but weren't able to move too far with the cliff behind them. They were trapped.

"Nowhere to run, huh boys?" the silver haired male remarked, feeling proud of himself.

"How did you know where to find us this time?!" Aichi cried. "Surely it wasn't coincidental!"

Kyou laughed. "Actually, I'll proudly say that it was! We came here to settle a score with that stupid witch and you just happened to be there!" He gestured to his men. "Boys! Grab him!"

Kai pulled Aichi behind him and moved forward, putting up a fighting stance. "You'll have to get through me first!"

"Gladly!" Kyou replied with a smirk.

Kyou's henchmen began charging at Kai. While they were quick about it, Kai was quicker, and he was able to stop both of them. They weren't going to give up that easy though. They were very persistent. It didn't matter though, for no matter how persistent they were, Kai was not going to let them get through.

But upon hearing Aichi scream, Kai realized he had made a terrible mistake.

He was so caught up with making sure the henchmen didn't get through, he failed to realize Kyou himself coming over to get Aichi. And indeed, he flew over and back; Aichi struggling within his grasp. Since Kyou was about as small as Aichi, it was almost no issue with the blue haired boy trying to break himself free. But the moment he got back on the safer side, Kyou pushed Aichi to one of his henchmen, who had stopped fighting Kai.

"Let go of him!" Kai yelled, charging at them. The other henchman, who had his hands free, used his dark magic to push Kai back.

However, he didn't realize how strong the magic was, and Kai was pushed off the cliff.

All four males stared in shock. It didn't take long for Kyou to recover from his shock though and he yelled at his accomplice. "What the fuck! You pushed him off the cliff! We aren't supposed to kill anybody!"

"It was an accident!" the henchman cried. "I didn't think it would be strong enough to push him that far! I only meant to stun him!"

As they argued, Aichi stood there in silence, the event a few seconds reeling in his mind. His heart ached, feeling like someone crushed it, turning it into dust. Hot, burning tears welled up at the corners of his eyes, refusing to fall. A small whimper escaped his lips, unable to form any words. His entire body felt heavy, as if he had been tied to weights; the only thing keeping him standing being the henchman holding him up. A mixture of emotions came bubbling up inside him; sorrow, grief, rage. All he could see was red.

"KAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

His sudden scream took the three black wings by surprise. With them caught off guard, Aichi managed to break free from the one restraining him and he ran over to the edge of the cliff.

"Woah! What are you doing?!" Kyou cried out. He and his accomplices were about to go after him, but the winged prince took a step back as he faced the black wings; his foot halfway off the cliff.

"Don't take another step closer or I'll jump!" Aichi warned them, his voice venomous.

The black winged males were taken aback at first before bursting out into laughter. "Are you fucking kidding me?!" Kyou guffawed. "Even if you jump, you can fly! And even if you choose not to fly, we'll just swoop down and grab you!"

"Are you sure?" Aichi questioned them. "I'm sure you don't realize how bad a storm is coming. It won't end well if you decide to fly."

And he was right. The winds were growing more violent by the minute. It didn't help with how high up they were, where the wind was stronger.

"What are you trying to do?" Kyou questioned the blue haired male's actions. "What will you get for threatening us?"

Aichi was silent at first, glaring at the three males before him. "You killed Kai…" he replied. "I will do whatever it takes to make you suffer, even if it means I sacrifice my own life."

This was getting serious. "But you are the prince of the Gold Winged Clan! You would seriously give up your life and put your entire clan at risk for just one guy?!"

"Kai wasn't just any guy!" The winged prince ran his fingers through his hair. "He was one of a kind. He was someone who seemed so good at everything and yet had things he was bad at. He appeared cold and unapproachable, but he was actually a very kind and thoughtful person." He laughed as tears rolled down his cheeks. "I'm a fool. Despite what he had done to me, here I am praising him. I guess no matter what horrible things he does to me, no matter how much he terrifies me, I'm so much in love with him to the point I'd give up everything for him…" With that, Aichi prepared to take another step back, ready to plummet to his death.

"No, stop! AICHIIIIIIIII!"

Aichi stopped upon hearing that cry. That voice… it came from below him. He looked down off the cliff where he saw something that changed his entire mood.

"Kai!"

Hanging off the wall of the cliff was Kai. With no ledge to grab onto, his nails grew long again and dug into the rocks. He was stuck, unable to climb back up with the lack of wall for his feet to latch onto and the strong winds trying to push him off. It was a good thing he didn't fall though, for at the bottom of the cliff there were spiky rocks. That combined with the giant waves would've spelt disaster. But with him stuck on the wall, he had no idea what to do.

"What?!" Kyou cried out. "You mean he's still alive?!"

Aichi looked back at Kyou with worry before looking back at Kai. With no hesitation, the blue haired boy let out his golden wings before diving off the cliff. He flapped them just in time so he was at the same height the older male was hanging from.

"Kai! Grab my hand!" Aichi cried out, stretching his hand out to him.

The brunet stared at him with widened eyes. "Are you crazy?!" he shouted at him. "You said so yourself! This storm is too strong to fly in. In addition of trying to carry me… it's too dangerous!"

But Aichi kept his hand out. "We have to try! There's no way I'm going to abandon you!"

Kai was about to retort before he saw the black wings standing at the edge of the cliff. They appeared to be discussing how to grab Aichi. They knew it wasn't safe to fly, so they were trying to figure out another method. Kai would've told Aichi to get away and leave him, but then his eyes locked onto the blue haired boy's; orbs of cerulean glimmering with determination. Nothing he'll say will make Aichi change his mind. Knowing there was no other option, Kai stretched one hand out to the gold winged male. Aichi managed to grab it, and after Kai got his other hand off the wall, the winded prince caught it too.

Carrying Kai by his hands with a tight grip, Aichi began to fly off. They couldn't fly back up onto the cliff with Kyou and the others still there, so Aichi began searching for another place to fly to. However, it was not going to be an easy task. The winds continued to grow stronger as the storm went on. That combined with Kai's weight caused a big strain on Aichi's wings and he was growing tired faster than he normally would. Kai noticed this.

"Aichi! Forget about me!" he cried. "Just let me go!"

"I won't!" Aichi replied, his grip on Kai's hands tightening so much they almost hurt. His tears returned as he looked down at the brunet, his determination not faltering for a second. "I won't ever let you go!"

Kai couldn't stop himself from staring. He had heard what the younger male was saying while he was still hanging on the cliff, but any doubts he had with Aichi's feelings for him were now gone. The lengths the blue haired boy would go through for the older male; Kai didn't feel like he deserved it.

These thoughts were interrupted as a giant hand of dark mist flew over and grabbed around Aichi's waist, causing the latter to cry in pain. Kai looked over and saw the source of the mist; Kyou, the most covering his entire left arm. Was this another ability the Black Winged Clan was capable of? Upon grabbing Aichi, Kyou began to pull his arm, trying to bring the two males up in the sky back to the cliff. Aichi flapped his wings as hard as he could to break free, but the hand was stronger than him. He couldn't escape as hard as he tried.

"Let go of him!" Kai yelled before the unexpected happened.

As if by instinct, the brunet blew on the dark hand; a stream of flames flowing out, causing the hand to let go as Kyou let out a pained yelp. The silver haired male couldn't believe what had just happened. How was a supposed human able to breathe fire? Not even members of the Red Winged Clan in the legends were able to do anything like that. This caused him to get even more frustrated and he tried again.

Back with the two males in the sky, Kai couldn't believe what had just happened. How was he able to breathe fire? But he couldn't delve into that thought for long as he noticed the dark hand coming back for them. He was about to try that again when out of the blue, Aichi let go of one of Kai's hands. The brunet was unsure of what was going on before he saw the winged male's eyes.

They were glowing, like back when they were playing volleyball.

Aichi lifted his free hand towards the direction of the giant hand of darkness. Like his eyes, his hand also began to glow. The glow then began to grow and grow until a ball of light the size of a basketball covered his entire hand. The ball of light then flew off his hand, went through the dark hand, causing it to evaporate, and over to the black wings. As soon as it hit, an explosion of light consumed the entire edge of the cliff.

He had did it!

But it was too soon to celebrate. As soon as his attack hit, Aichi's eyes stopped glowing. Just like with the volleyball match, the blue haired male began to lose consciousness, and the two of them fell out the sky, engulfed by the waves that waited below them.

Back with Kyou and his henchmen, they had survived the explosion of light, and Kyou was able to regain his sight in time to watch both the gold winged prince and his companion fall into the ocean.

"Shit!" he yelled.

With the waves as big and violent as they were, anyone would drown if they even took a step in. And if Prince Aichi was to die, Kyou knew he would be given heck by the king. And that would also mean the three of them would never be allowed back to the Cloudlands. He tried to come up with something else; something that would please the king.

As the gears in his head turned, a brilliant idea came to mind.

He remembered one of the orders King Ren had given him; the one about the leader of the Red Winged Clan. What if he grabbed the witch from the Red Winged Clan? Sure, it was possible she was not the leader, but it was as clear as day she was no ordinary woman. Helping his companions back on their feet, he told them his plan before the three of them left the cliff, heading off to find Tsukiko to recover from their previous failure.


	24. Chapter 23: Reconciliation

The storm grew more intense with each passing minute. Everyone that was outside hurried to take shelter in the resort. Tsukiko paced anxiously in the main lobby. There was no sign of the boys. She even tried to call her son's cell three times with no response. To say that she was worried is a complete understatement. She was terrified.

After an hour had passed, Miwa, Morikawa, and Izaki walked in completely drenched from the pouring rain. As soon as she saw them, Tsukiko rushed over and pulled her son in a hug, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Thank goodness you're alright!" she exclaimed. "I was afraid something bad had happened to you!" She then looked around, noticing the group was a smaller number than it should be. "Where are Toshiki and Aichi?"

All three males looked at her in shock. "You mean they haven't come back yet?!" Miwa asked. "We tried looking for them but we couldn't find them anywhere! We assumed they probably went back ahead of us!"

The anxiety the older woman felt had now skyrocketed. She pulled out her cell phone and started dialing Kai's number. It kept ringing with no response. She kept calling as she headed to her room, getting the coat she brought just in case, when she heard ringing from the boys's room. When they looked inside, Kai's cell was there laying on the floor. Of course he didn't have it on him the one time it was important he had it. With no other option, Tsukiko grabbed her coat and went back to the lobby, heading for the exit. Miwa stopped her before she took a step outside.

"You're not seriously going to look for them yourself?!" he said.

"Those two are out there in a bad storm!" Tsukiko cried. "Who knows what could happen to them the longer they're out there!"

"Then at the very least, let me-!"

"No, Taishi." The look on the blonde woman's face was stern but her eyes were full of sadness and regret. "I want you to stay here to assure me that you are safe. Besides…" She looked outside. "I can't let anything bad happen to them while on my watch. I don't want to taint our relations with the Gold Winged Clan more than we already had. And if something were to happen to Toshiki…"

She was unable to say anything more. Not like she needed to, for her son understood perfectly well. He too was unable to say anything, unsure if anything he said would make her feel better. Even so, he refused to let her get into danger. After all, she was family. As Miwa had let down his guard while deep in thought, Tsukiko took the opportunity to get away. Her son's cries fell on deaf ears as the mother ran out the door into the raging storm.

She ran around everywhere, calling the boys's names as loud as she could while she searched. Sadly, the sound of thunder drowned out her voice, so even if they were around, they wouldn't be able to hear her that well unless they were super close by.

And unfortunately while someone did hear her, it was the last few people she wished to see.

Appearing before her were Kyou and his comrades; determination gleaming in their eyes. Tsukiko put up a defensive position, ready to protect herself against them should they attack.

"Hold on, witch!" Kyou spoke up, holding his hand up to halt her. "As much as I would love to, we're not here to fight you right now."

Tsukiko let out a chuckle as her lips formed an amused smirk. "Oh, really? Then if it isn't a fight you want, then what do you want with me? I'm a little busy especially since, you know, WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A STORM!"

The silver haired man let out a chuckle himself. "It's very simple. You see, His Majesty King Ren wishes to speak to the leader of the Red Winged Clan. Of course we don't know who that is, but I have no doubt after our battle that you are one of the most powerful members of the Red Winged Clan and would serve as a close second."

The older woman lowered her guard slightly as she stood straight; not bothering to hide her annoyance. "Is that all?" she questioned. "Sorry boys, but I must decline. As I said before, I'm busy." She was about to leave until…

"You wish to know where Prince Aichi and his companion are?"

Those words caused Tsukiko to stop in her tracks. She turned around, greeted with a triumphant smirk on Kyou's face. Blue eyes narrowed. "Where are they?" she asked with a threatening tone.

"If you want to know where they are," Kyou turned around and gestured her to follow, "You know what we want."

Tsukiko stood there out of hesitation, staring at the black winged male. She was unsure whether to trust him or not. For all she knew, it could lead to a trap. However, it was also the only lead she had on where Kai and Aichi were. She wasn't able to find them in the places she looked. What if the Black Winged Clan had them hostage? She couldn't overlook that. She had no choice. She would do what the Black Winged Clan asked for her and if it turns out it's a trap, she could easily escape.

After all, very few people have actually defeated her in battle.

She followed Kyou and his men, heading towards a nearby worn out shack. Tsukiko examined the interior as soon as she got inside. There was very little in the shack but it was very unkempt and everything was covered in dust. It appeared like the shack was used as storage, but with some of the objects moved around, it looked like it could be livable. She looked at the black winged men before her. With their own unkempt appearance, she could guess they didn't have the money to afford to stay at the resort.

"Now," Kyou began, "Before you speak to the king… do you know the spell to contact him?"

The blonde woman let out an exasperated sigh. It was no surprise they didn't know how to use the contact spell. "Is there anything around that can create a reflection? That's the first step to the contact spell."

The three males looked at each other before they ran around the entire shack rummaging through all the items stored until they found an old TV that didn't look like it could be used to watch things on, but Tsukiko assured them it was good enough. They moved the objects that were piled up on a small table off and placed the TV on it. Once it was in position, Tsukiko lifted her hand towards the TV; her hand started to glow. She closed her eyes and concentrated, putting all her attention in contacting the king of the Black Winged Clan himself.

XxXxX

With half a month already passed, Ren was already starting to lose patience. To think that if Aichi hadn't fallen in the portal, part of his plan would have possibly been completed by now. Instead, he was forced to play the waiting game and he would have to rely on an outside source to do his bidding. Admittedly, the whole thing drained him, and he wished that time would go by quicker.

He was sitting on his throne, enjoying a glass of chimera berry juice; the sour liquid going down his throat with ease. He was alone in the giant room, making it easy for him to get lost in thought. Asaka went to the kingdom of the Green Winged Clan and he had no idea where Tetsu was. He could swear the latter was not acting like his usual self. It seemed like these days, he was unable to read his loyal subject and friend's thoughts. What could he be doing?

He then heard a faint call from his glass. It sounded familiar. He looked to see Kyou reflecting off the glass. This caught the king off guard. How could Kyou know how to contact someone? It would be impossible to do.

"What is it that you want?" he asked.

"Well," the silver haired male began, "You remember when you said you wanted to talk to the leader of the Red Winged Clan?"

At that moment, Ren shot up from his throne. "Say no more! End the call for now! I wish to speak with them through proper means." At that moment, Kyou disappeared from the glass and the crimson haired male rushed to the tower with his crystal ball. He was feeling giddy as he made his way up the tower. Things were finally starting to progress. Once he was at his crystal ball, he used his magic to contact Kyou once again. As soon as his subordinate responded, Ren couldn't contain his pleased smirk.

"Allow me to speak with them," was all he said.

Upon being given the order, Kyou moved aside, letting Tsukiko stand in front of the TV. Both the blonde woman and the black winged king were face to face.

"So you are King Ren." the woman spoke. "How nice to finally meet the mastermind behind what was disturbing the prince of the Gold Winged Clan."

"And I suppose you are the Red Winged Clan's leader?" Ren asked back.

"I suppose in a way." Tsukiko replied. "With the king and queen gone and with no heir to take over, I serve as the substitute ruler unless one proves more worthy." She narrowed her eyes. "But I can tell looking at you that it is not necessarily the clan's ruler you seek, but rather someone with a gift not many winged beings have."

The king's smirk grew into an amused grin. "How very interesting. You seem to read me well. And would you be the one I seek?"

Tsukiko didn't say anything. She just simply closed her eyes and concentrated on something. When she opened her eyes, they began glowing as an intense aura surrounded her, causing the shack to shake. Kyou and his men cried in fear upon the sudden action and tried to keep their ground. Not long after, her eyes stopped glowing; the shaking stopping around the same time.

"So you are the one!" Ren cheered with joy. "I am now face to face with the one from the Red Winged Clan with the power! I have wanted to meet you for quite a while."

Tsukiko smirked. "I am honoured. And I too have wanted to finally meet King Shigeru's son."

At that moment, the king's joyous and amused face was replaced with a grim and dark expression. "Do not ever say his name."

The blonde woman was caught on guard by Ren's sudden change in mood. However, it didn't take long for her to regain her composure and, not wanting to waste more time than they already had, went straight to the point. "So, what is it you want from me?"

Upon being asked that, Ren was briefly able to calm down a bit to answer. "You are the one who placed traps in the basement of the Red Winged Clan's castle, aren't you?"

"I'm honestly surprised the castle is still standing." Tsukiko replied. "I thought it was burnt down. But yes, I made those traps."

"And there you have things you didn't want others to find."

"Quite possibly."

"Would you say one of the things hidden there… is 'the tool'?"

At that moment, Tsukiko narrowed her eyes. "I see what's going on now. You plan to destroy it, don't you? And you can't lie; I can see the dark aura surrounding you. You have become a servant of the Void."

The crimson haired male smirked amusingly. "I don't deny it."

It was the blonde haired woman's turn to smirk. "Well then, I hate to break it to you, but 'the tool' is not in the castle ruins. In all honesty, I don't even know where it is right now."

The smirk that was on Ren's face changed into a grimace scowl. "What do you mean?!" he questioned. "You are the creator of 'the tool', are you not?!"

"I created the core of 'the tool'." Tsukiko replied. "The thing about 'the tool' is that it isn't some weapon or object, but rather an entity of its own; able to think, to feel. It is both my greatest accomplishment as well as my greatest regret. There have been times where I myself wanted to destroy it, and yet I can't, for within it are the very emotions I felt upon creating it; the strength I wished to bestow to protect those I love, the compassion I felt for my people, and the hope I have of a brighter tomorrow. Within it… is a promise I made to my beloved, the lengths I would go to make them happy. And because of that, I have no control over it, so not even I know what has become of it. You can lock me away and torture me, but it will be a waste of time, for I have said everything I know."

Ren was unable to say anything. Rather, he was frustrated. This woman was not telling him what he wanted to hear. Anymore of this and he could swear he would lose his sanity. However, there was one thing he didn't try yet, and even though he didn't think it would succeed, it was his last option. "One more question and then you are free to go; what is 'the tool'?"

The older woman expected this question to pop up. She let out a little chuckle before answering. "It cannot be reached easily and it cannot be touched without burning you. It is warm even when it's cold, strong yet fragile, and it doesn't move but moves others. It beats to no melody, but creates sadness if it stops. So King Ren, do you know what 'the tool' is?"

The black winged king's eyes glowed as he kept out his anger. "I don't want a stupid riddle! I want you to tell me what it is!"

"But I thought you love games." Tsukiko replied in a rather demeaning tone. "What fun would it be if I just told you the answer? I assure you; this is a rather easy riddle. Though even if you figure it out, you still have the issue of finding 'the tool' itself. If not even I know where it is, who is to say if you can find it."

"Are you mocking me?!"

"Goodness, no! I merely provided a challenge to the great king of the Black Winged Clan. Would it not be satisfying if Your Majesty was able to outsmart the infamous witch of the Red Winged Clan and somehow manage to retrieve 'the tool' before I can do anything to stop you?"

Ren smirked from the compliments. The red winged woman spoke the truth. It would be satisfying to defeat her. He let out a chuckle. "Alright then." he responded. "I shall take on your challenge and I will contact you when I figure out the answer to your riddle."

"You must contact me during the evening though." said Tsukiko. "I am a very busy woman and it is not safe to contact me with humans present. If you try, I will ignore you."

"Very well. Until we meet again, witch."

With all said and done, Ren disappeared off the TV screen, and the entire shack went silent with the exception of the thunder and strong wind outside. As soon as she knew he was gone, she faced Kyou. "Alright. I've done what you asked. Now for your end of the bargain."

The silver haired male smirked. "But of course! If you want to know where those two are… I'd imagine they're somewhere in the bottom of the ocean right about now."

Upon hearing that, Tsukiko felt as if her heart had stopped. She glared at the black winged males. "I should've known… you tricked me…"

"I didn't trick you." Kyou replied. "I never said they were with me or anything like that; just that I knew where they are. And it's the truth. I saw them fall into the ocean, drowning to their death."

He did not help the situation. The more he said, the more Tsukiko's rage grew. Her fury grew to the point where her eyes began to glow once again and the shack began to shake more intensely. The storm itself was bad, but with the quake that the red winged woman's caused and how bad it was going, if it continued in this way, the wood walls and ceiling, which were old and rickety already, would collapse on top of them. They tried to rush over to stop her, but she surrounded herself with a circle of flames that were tall enough that no one could reach her, whether by walking, flying, or even using magic. The three males began to panic. They would have to choose between having the shack fall on top of them or run out in the storm with no other means of shelter. No matter what they chose, the result would not be good for them.

"Mom! Stop!"

Miwa stood there in the entryway. As soon as his mom ran off, he hurried to chase after her, worried that something bad would happen to her. He had been hiding the entire time, waiting in case his mom was in trouble. And although she was fine physically, he could see she was in emotional turmoil; ready to kill with her bare hands.

"Don't do it, Mom!" he cried. "You shouldn't kill them, whether they deserve it or not!"

Tsukiko's attention moved to her son. "Taishi…" she spoke up, her anger still evident. "I thought I told you to stay inside the resort building."

"Oh yeah! Like I'm going to just stay put when my own mom ran out into a storm, possibly putting herself in danger! Listen to me, Mom! Kai and Aichi are still alive! I know they are!"

"You don't know that for sure!"

"Maybe not, but I believe in them. And while I believe that, I don't want to see any needless bloodshed. The storm is getting worse, but it should be fine to make it back to the resort from here if we hurry. Please, Mom."

Tsukiko stared at her son in wonder. The blond haired male was always brimming with optimism, wanting to believe in the people he loved. Could she place her trust in that? It was then that images appeared in her mind. The setting was the stage they were set to perform on, and down stage were Kai and Aichi, wearing the outfits that Tsukiko had imagined for Draco's human form and Lucia respectively, performing the intimate waltz they spent time practicing on. It was not a dream or her imagination.

It was a vision of the future.

"They are alive…"

Seeing that vision caused various emotions to well up inside her, mainly relief. The quaking stopped and the flames died out, returning everything to normal. As soon as her eyes stopped glowing, she lost her balance. Luckily, Miwa was able to catch her before she hit the ground.

A weak chuckle escaped the blonde haired woman's lips. "I haven't used that much power in a while, it weakened me quicker than it usually does." She looked up at her son. "I'm sorry, Taishi."

Miwa gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it, Mom. I'm just glad you didn't hurt yourself." He looked over at the three black winged males, who were still stunned from what had just happened. The blond male smirked. "Well, you three now know what you're dealing with if you try to get close to us again, especially if you try to hurt our friends. If I were you, I would stay as far away as possible."

The three males didn't say anything but they were now shuttering from the sight that laid before them. Miwa took this as a sign that they got the message and left the shack, carrying Tsukiko princess style. He wasn't lying when he said the storm was getting worse. Strong winds and thunder and lightning were bad enough, but it was now slowly starting to rain. However, even while carrying his mom, he was able to outrun the rain and make it back to the resort in time. Once they made it inside, they were greeted by Morikawa and Izaki, who were both worried after the mother and son duo ran off. Miwa assured them that they were okay and that his mother needed rest before heading to their room. Seeing that the futons were already set up, Miwa slowly lowered his mom down and tucked her in.

"I'm still worried about them even if my vision has assured me they are alright." she spoke up as Miwa was about to turn in himself.

"I'm sure they have found shelter from the storm by now." he assured her. "We'll see them in the morning." He chuckled. "You know, isn't it usually the parent that has to comfort the child?"

Tsukiko let out a huff. "You still have to say something cheeky, don't you?"

Miwa simply smiled. "I get it. With a storm that bad and with what the black wings have said, even if they are still alive, we don't know if they're hurt or not. But those guys are tough. I'm sure they're fine."

"I hope so…" The blonde haired woman turned to her side facing away from her son and tried to go to sleep. Miwa stayed awake, staring at the window. Despite acting carefree, he too was worried about his friends. However, he knew he needed to be strong, not just to help ease his mother, but for himself as well. He prayed that those two were someplace safe as he laid down and tried to go to sleep himself.

XxXxX

Meanwhile, Kai had walked onto the beach, carrying Aichi on his back. As Kyou had suspected, any ordinary person would drown even if they took a single step in with the waves as devastating as they were. But Kai had already realized that he wasn't an ordinary person. His physical strength and stamina surpassed that of a normal human and because if that, even with Aichi on his back and with clothes that had grown heavy with how soaked they were, he was able to swim them both back to shore.

Once he made it far enough that the waves couldn't pull them back in, he collapsed on the ground; Aichi's unconscious body rolling off of him. But the older male couldn't relax just yet. He checked to see if the winged male was okay, rolling him onto his back. He panicked when he realized that Aichi wasn't breathing. He was about to call for help but stopped himself before he could. He couldn't let anyone find them. Aichi's wings were out and it would not be a good idea to arouse suspicion. But then what could he do?

He tried to calm himself. He was in class when they were taught CPR. He just needed to remember the steps. It was clear that Aichi was both unconscious and not breathing. He leaned his head against the blue haired male's chest. He was relieved to hear a heartbeat. He then examined Aichi's body for injuries. He saw no signs of the sort which was also a good sign. Since his heart was beating, there was no need for Kai to perform chest compressions.

That left only one thing left to do.

With no hesitation, he gently leaned Aichi's head back, opened his mouth, held his chin and plugged his nose, and with a deep breath, he leaned in and pressed his lips against the unconscious male's, breathing out into the latter's mouth. After letting his breath out, he leaned back and repeated the process. After he did it the third time, Aichi coughed out some water.

"Aichi!" Kai cried. The blue haired male continued to cough a little bit more until he got it out of his system. His eyes slowly opened and saw the figure that rescued him.

However, what he saw wasn't what it looked like in the eyes of others.

If anyone were to see the sight before them, they would've seen a handsome human man who saved a winged boy with gold wings. But in Aichi's hazy and unfocused eyes, he saw what started out as a red blob become some sort of humanoid creature covered in red scales staring down at him with concerned golden eyes. But his mind, just as hazy as his eyesight, was unable to comprehend what he was seeing and fell unconscious once again. Kai almost panicked again when he noticed but calmed down when it occurred to him that the younger male was sleeping.

As he sat there staring at his unconscious companion, it began to rain heavily. It was bad already that they were soaked from almost drowning in the ocean, but now they had the rain to worry about. At the very least, the winds were not as strong as they were back when the two males were on the cliff but still pretty bad, and the sound of thunder was getting louder with the white flash of lightning. Knowing full well it wasn't safe to stay there, Kai picked Aichi up princess style and began to search around for shelter. Since Aichi had his wings out still, the older male searched for someplace secluded.

He came across a cave near the edge of the cove. It wouldn't be the most comfortable place to stay the night, but it was serviceable given their circumstances. When he walked inside, he saw how spacious it was, with the sand being replaced with rock the farther in they went. A bit of the ocean seeped in, making a little pond, but the water was calmer the further in it got, so there was no fear of drowning at the moment. Kai placed the unconscious winged being against the wall farther from the water before heading back to the cave entrance.

The brunet had noticed outside of the cave there were trees growing at one side of the entrance, and some of the branches reached inside. Since these branches had not been drenched from the rain, he figured he would gather some and, along with some rocks that rested inside, he could make a bonfire.

With the branches and the rocks in place, Kai began to take one of the branches and tried to make a fire. Try as he might however, he proved unsuccessful. He knew he needed to worry. The air within the cave was cold, and combined with the dampness outside as well as their drenched clothes, they would easily catch cold.

As he thought that, he felt a sneeze coming in. Kai was unable to control himself as he let out a giant sneeze that was almost disastrous. But upon opening his eyes after sneezing, he saw the bonfire had been lit. This would be something to celebrate but more than that, Kai felt both confused and frustrated. It happened earlier too; when he was trying to save Aichi from the Black Winged Clan, he breathed fire.

He began to test something out. He took a deep breath and then let it out in a sigh. No flames came out. It was good because he didn't want fire to come out that time. He then took another deep breath, this time with the intention of letting out flames, and when he blew, a small stream of crimson flames came out. So he breathed fire only when he wanted to but is only able to lose control when he sneezes. It was a good thing he didn't breathe fire when he was trying to give Aichi mouth to mouth.

Aichi! He had almost forgotten about him. He rushed over to the winged prince, still deep asleep, picked him up, and carried him close to the bonfire before sitting down. He held the younger male close to him, trying to keep him warm. Aichi just kept sleeping with a peaceful and content expression on his face.

With nothing else to do, Kai just sat there, observing his surroundings. The crimson flames of the bonfire created a dim and serene glow to an otherwise dark and somber cave, clashing with the occasional bright light of lightning from outside. The only sounds that could be heard were the pitter patter of raindrops hitting whatever it could reach, the loud rumble of thunder, the cackling of the flames, and Aichi's soft sighs as he slept.

Kai then began to observe the sleeping boy in his arms. The blue haired boy was so thin and lithe, he appeared rather fragile. One wouldn't believe someone this frail looking was a fantastic swordsman. The brunet frowned. This same person was even willing to die to stay at his side. For what reason would he do so? Kai had done nothing but hurt this precious boy. Sure, Kai himself had been trying to get Aichi back, but a part of him had already considered giving up.

As if feeling Kai's uneasiness, Aichi, who was still fast asleep, snuggled closer to the older male, as if he was subconsciously trying to comfort him. Kai's heart started beating like crazy from the sudden action. And to his surprise, just like in the forest, he didn't lose control. It was all so confusing. Why would he lose control some moments and yet not other moments? It didn't make sense. He ran his fingers through the soft blue hair, brushing strands of it off the younger male's relaxed face. Kai could never tire of staring at that beautiful face. No doubt this was the face of someone who would melt the hearts of any man or woman who laid eyes on him.

It had then occurred to him; though it was a means of saving the latter's life, Kai's lips had touched Aichi's. His face turned bright red with that certain revelation. No, there wasn't anything intimate behind it in the slightest! It was just to save his life, nothing more!

As Kai was panicking within his mind, long eyelashes fluttered open as Aichi woke up. Everything was foggy at first, but it didn't take long for his eyes to adjust and for him to realize what was going on. He slowly lifted his head up so he could look at the one holding him. "... Kai?"

The older male instantly looked down at the winged male. "You're awake." He didn't wait for a response before pulling the smaller male in a tight embrace. "You almost died… You just laid there not breathing… I almost lost you…"

Aichi simply sat there, unable to say anything. Kai's voice wavered, sounding like he was about to cry. The blue haired boy returned the embrace, trying to comfort the taller male. However, he himself could not contain his own tears, for he too was scared of the idea of losing his beloved. The two spent a good amount of time crying in each other's arms, neither daring to let go in fear of the other supposedly fading away.

Once they had calmed down a bit, Aichi was the first one to break the silence. "I never thought you would cry for someone who is just a sleeping buddy to you…"

"You're wrong!" Kai cried, pulling back so he made eye contact with the younger male. "You're not just a sleeping buddy! When I said that thing earlier… I meant that I've gotten so used to having you here with me that it messes up my entire lifestyle. And I know what you're about to say; I should've said that in the first place. But I brought up the bed specifically because… well, because that was where you helped me be the most at ease, that night when you created a night sky with your magic.

"What I'm trying to say is that although we haven't known each other for very long… it's gotten to the point where I can't imagine life without you… and that I have fall…" He couldn't continue. As if the words were caught in a knot in his throat, he couldn't let out the rest that he wanted to say; that he was in love with Aichi. "I'm…" Once again, nothing would come out. What was he so afraid of? It was clear as day that Aichi was in love with him too. He needed to say it. "I…"

But it was no use. Try as he might, he couldn't get the words out. He averted his gaze, face completely red, catching the blue haired male off guard. If he couldn't say the word 'love' directly, there was a way to bypass it and get his feelings across.

"...I deeply care about you."

It was Aichi's turn to have his face turn red. He could feel Kai's feelings with his words. He was so happy, he couldn't contain the tears that began to well up in the corners of his eyes. And just when he was able to calm down again after crying. "Kai…"

"... Back then, when I told you I didn't want anyone close to me; that I wanted to be alone, it was partially true… but not for the reasons it may have come off as. I was… scared to have someone love me… and for me to feel the same… because I feared that I would lose them. And it is especially true in our case."

"What do you mean?"

Kai looked back at the winged male. "You and I come from two different worlds. You are a winged being; a prince who must follow your clan's expectations, and I… well, I can't call myself a human. I don't know what I am. But I live here on Earth, and time is fleeting. There's only half a month left until you can return to the Cloudlands… and I was scared that despite your declarations of love that you would return there and leave me."

"Kai…" Aichi wrapped his arms around the brunet in an embrace once again. "I won't lie; my heart is conflicted. I want nothing more than to stay on Earth just to be with you. Here, I'm not prince and future king of the Gold Winged Clan, I am just simply Aichi. I am free to do whatever I want and be with whomever I please. But…" He pulled away and made some distance between each other, holding his legs close to his chest. "... I know as much as I want to, I cannot stay here. I can't abandon my clan, even if it means I have my freedom stripped away from me. I need to be there to protect my people from the Void. But also… ah, you would find me despicable for this last reason!"

"Try me." Kai dared.

The winged male looked over at him with ashamed eyes. "You only need to look at me to tell… I am a winged being. I have the ability to fly… and I fully embrace this gift. I'm sure there are winged beings that live here that can live just fine with their ability to fly stripped away… but I can't. Even if most of my life is spent locked away in a palace, I would still be as I am; a winged being." Aichi hid his face. "You must hate me now…"

"No!" The older male grabbed the blue haired male's chin and pulled it so they made eye contact. "I understand completely! And I don't want to strip you of your wings! I wouldn't dare ask that of you…"

Aichi was about to reply to that, but what came out was not words but a big sneeze. Kai began to panic. "Are you alright?! Are you feeling cold?" He looked down. "I guess being in drenched clothes doesn't help, and we don't have any dry ones here... It might be awkward, but you might need to take those clothes off."

The winged male moved away from the brunet, wrapping his arms around himself as his face was as red as a tomato. "No way! I'm not going to sit here naked!"

"You won't be naked." Kai replied. "You'll still have your underwear on."

"I still can't!"

"Why are you shy? I've seen you with your shirt off before."

"It's different now! Besides, you're wearing wet clothes too. Shouldn't you also take your clothes off too before you catch cold?"

"I don't need to. I don't get col-!" Before Kai could finish that sentence, he quickly turned his head away from his companion before he made a big sneeze himself; another stream of flames coming out. As soon as he was relieved from that, he looked back at Aichi who had crossed his arms while giving a not amused look.

"Really! I'm fine!" Kai assured him. But the younger male was still not impressed. There was only silence before Kai gave in. He was reluctant to show what was under his clothes, afraid that it would scare Aichi, but since he made a promise to not hide anything tonight and given Aichi's stubbornness, he had no choice. "Alright. I'll take my clothes off too, but you have to do it first."

Aichi shook his head. "You first."

"No, you first."

"No, you."

"Why are you so determined not to go first? Just go first so we can get this over with?"

"Well, why don't you?"

"Because I can't go first. You have to go first."

"Why do I have to go first?!"

"I'm not mentally prepared yet."

"Well, neither am I!"

Both were at an impasse; neither refusing to back down. Kai groaned. "Seriously, Aichi! What is the big deal?! What is it that you are so hesitant to show-?!"

Upon closer inspection, Kai noticed Aichi had spent a good amount of time with his hand on his neck; the same place the brunet bit him. He then realized what was going on. "How bad is it?"

Aichi averted his gaze. "After Miwa and Miss Tsukiko found me, I had my neck bandaged up to keep it from bleeding. I was about to change the bandages when… well, it was no longer bleeding. That was a good sign. It would've been bad if it was still bleeding-!"

"How bad is it?!" Kai asked once again in a much more harsh and demanding tone. He didn't like how the younger male was deliberately trying to avoid talking about the specifics of it. Since he was the one responsible for what happened, he needed to know if it had gotten worse or not.

The winged male let out a long, drawn out, sad sigh. He knew it would be bad if Kai saw the mark he left when he hit him. However, he had no choice. He took off his jacket first, then his shoes, socks, and pants, leaving his boxers on. All that was left was the turtleneck sweater. Aichi slowly took it off, prolonging the reveal as much as he could. It eventually reached the point where he couldn't hold it off anymore and took it off, revealing the very thing he was hesitant to show.

And at that moment, Kai had forgotten how to breathe upon seeing such a shocking sight.

He hadn't seen the spot where he hit but even if he did, it would've been covered with blood. However, what he saw on Aichi's neck was definitely not blood and far from a bite mark. Instead, it was some sort of sun shaped mark with a flame outline in the middle. Kai was overcome with a series of emotions; primarily fear. What the hell was he to create something like that from just a bite?

"Fuck!" he shouted as he stood up, pacing around while his hands clenched the sides of his hair. "Fuck, fuck, FUCK!"

"Kai, please calm down." Aichi cried.

"Calm down?!" Kai asked. "How the fuck can I calm down?! A mark like that doesn't usually appear from a bite! That's not normal! I'm not normal! I'm the one that created that! WHAT THE HELL AM I?!"

His yell at the end turned into a monstrous roar, greeted with the loud bang of thunder and a bright flash of lightning. That combination caused Aichi to let out an ear piercing scream as he wrapped his arms around himself, shaking in fear. Kai realized this and stared at the younger male, completely devastated. Once again, he had done nothing but hurt Aichi, even if it wasn't intentional. He couldn't move an inch, scared that if he were to do so, he wouldn't only cause more pain. He collapsed to his knees; tears falling down his face.

"I'm sorry." he sobbed. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" He kept repeating the words over and over, unable to say anything else.

Aichi looked over at the brunet, tears in his eyes as well. Twice already, the usually prideful male had broke down in front of him. At that moment, Aichi knew that the man before him was the real Kai; someone who acted strong to hide the deep insecurities that laid within his heart. And it was at that moment that Aichi finally understood Miwa's words.

I've known Kai practically my entire life. And although I don't know what goes on in his head, I just look in his eyes and I see someone crying for help; yearning for someone to share his pain and ease the burden off his shoulders, to hold him and love him and assure him that he isn't alone, even if he himself will refuse to admit it. He's a broken man, Aichi, and he needs a little push to fully admit that.

If there is a person that can, they'd have to be someone who understands him better than anyone else, someone that can provide a change in him just by purely existing. That someone… may as well be as broken as him, and need him to be their pillar of support just as he needs them to be his.

Aichi… your eyes are the same as his.

Upon realizing this, Aichi began crawling to Kai's side. The first thing he did upon reaching him was bring the taller male's head close to his chest, cradling it in his arms, run his fingers through the spiky brown locks, and constantly repeat in a sobbed whisper "I'm here."

Kai instantly wrapped his arms around the blue haired male's thin waist, hiding his face against the latter's chest, and went back to repeating "I'm sorry" in a muffled voice. With the only words shared between them being the back and forth of "I'm sorry" and "I'm here", these two boys held each other close, both in their own way broken, with the only means of consoling each other in this cold cave was their very presence and their body heat, though they would sometimes do another gesture to help. Aichi on occasion would place a kiss on top of the brunet's head. Kai would snuggle closer and hug tighter, yearning to be deeply engulfed in his beloved's embrace.

After some time had passed, they had both calmed down once again. Kai lifted his head up and looked at the mark on Aichi's neck once again. "Does it still hurt?" he asked, slowly raising his hand to touch the mark.

As soon as a fingertip barely touched the mark, Aichi pushed the older male with such force. Realizing what he had done, cerulean eyes stared apologetically. "I'm sorry. I have gotten used to normal contact again but if anyone tries to make contact with my neck by any means…"

He didn't need to say anymore, for Kai completely understood. It was a traumatic experience for both of them. The older male knew for sure he was too scared to place his lips on Aichi's neck after that. He then remembered that he still had something he had yet to do. He stood up, walked over to where Aichi's clothes laid, walked over to a big rock close to the furthest wall, placed the clothes on top, and then began to strip.

"Wait, Kai!" Aichi called out. "That's not necessary!"

"We agreed that we would both strip so we wouldn't get cold from wearing our wet clothes." Kai replied. "You've already done your part, now it's my turn."

"But you have something you're hiding, aren't you?"

"It wouldn't be fair if you showed yours but I didn't. Besides…" Kai began to take off his pants and boots, leaving his boxers on. "I made a promise that I wouldn't hide anything from you for the rest of the night."

Aichi was unable to say anything. It was clear that Kai wasn't going to allow any objections at this point. Eventually, not including his boxers, he only had his shirt left. His back facing the younger male as he stood in the darkness, Kai let out a sigh.

"Before you see what I've been hesitant to show anyone, I have a couple things I need to say." he began. "First of all, I hope that you don't freak out with what you see. Second, I have to confess something important. You recall back on the cliff when I said I didn't remember that particular moment of my past? The truth is… I don't really remember a good chunk of my past. The earliest I can remember is sometime after my seventh birthday. I woke up and I couldn't recall a thing. I didn't even remember my own name. Even now, I barely remember my parents, though their faces are a blur to me. Miss Tsukiko was there, worried about me." He had already taken his shirt off, but Aichi couldn't see anything with how dark the area he was standing in was. "I don't actually know if it was true or not… but she told me there was a fire. It took my parents… but my life was spared. However, I was not entirely free of the suffering... for whatever event took my parents left something for me."

As if on cue, there was another flash of lightning bright enough to light the entire cave with or without the help of the bonfire. That meant that whatever Kai was hiding in the darkness was finally revealed to Aichi.

And it took Aichi everything he could to not scream from the sight.

The entirety of Kai's back, the left side of his torso, and his left arm from below the shoulder to a bit past the elbow was covered in grotesque looking burns. The red, black, and brown that stood out from the taller male's otherwise pale skin was a nauseating sight. Aichi wanted to look away; the image before him too unbearable and heartbreaking to see, and yet he couldn't. He refused to. He knew that it took all of Kai's courage to show him this and he didn't want to hurt him with his own weakness.

On the opposite end, Kai was feeling uncomfortable being exposed like this. He didn't like how Aichi's eyes were glued onto him, staring at him in silence. It felt like he was being judged, pitied, like everything he had built up about himself was now crumbling.

Suddenly, Aichi stood up and began walking towards the older male. Kai was unsure of what was going on, but he could only stand in place as the distance between them was almost closed completely. "Kai…" the blue haired boy spoke up, raising his hand up so it was up to his chest. "Can I…?"

He didn't need to say anymore, for the look in his eyes gave away what he wanted to ask. Kai simply nodded. Aichi just stood there at first, lowering his gaze at Kai's chest, before letting his hand gently run up and down the burn. The way his fingers brushed against the damaged skin was ticklish but not to the point where the brunet would stop laughing uncontrollably. It was more of a comforting tickle, trying to ease his heart of his insecurities.

Aichi then began to put some pressure on his touches, catching Kai off guard. "It doesn't hurt, does it?" the winged male asked out of concern.

Kai shook his head. "It hasn't for the ten or so years since I got it."

The younger male continued to run his fingers across the burn, absorbing the things he was being told. "... Back when we had that fight, you know, the fight where I brought up how you always wear long sleeves and it resulted with me burning my hand wanting to cook for you… you asked me a question regarding my healing abilities…" Cerulean eyes met with teal. "You asked me that because of your wound, right?"

"... Yeah."

So his guess was right. Aichi grew suspicious of the burn. He wasn't an expert in medical science, but he needed to know how long different injuries take to heal for his healing powers so he read a book about it. Though they may leave a scar, burns do heal up over time albeit a while. But for one to still look this bad for about ten years? It didn't seem natural.

"Aichi?" Kai spoke up, snapping Aichi out of his thoughts. "You okay? You're not bothered by… this, are you?"

"No!" Aichi replied with no hesitation, staring up up at the brunet. "Not at all! This… and everything else that has happened… doesn't change the way I think of you. I still think you are an amazing person, if not even more amazing. I..."

At that moment, they realized the position they were in. They had subconsciously moved closer to each other as they talked, there was no distance between them as their bodies touched. Their faces were also super close; their noses touching and their lips an inch away. Back when they first met and accidentally got this close, both were embarrassed and it was very awkward. But now that they had known each other for a bit and their feelings for each other changed from mere acquaintances to two people madly in love with each other, the distance didn't bother them in the slightest. Rather, the two simply stared at each other, mesmerized by the sight before them as the romantic attraction flowed through their entire beings.

Kai was the first to move after a minute, but he didn't break away. Instead, he brought his hand up and cupped Aichi's cheek, gently tracing the blue haired boy's bottom lip with his thumb. Aichi closed his eyes, letting out a soft, relaxed sigh. The older male moved his thumb off and, as soon as he knew it was okay, he slowly leaned forward, closing the distance until…

Their lips touched.

The brunet didn't notice this back when he was giving Aichi mouth to mouth considering he was focused on saving him, but the latter's lips were soft and tasted rather sweet and fruity. After almost a minute, the two pulled apart. They stared at each other once again for a few seconds before pulling each other into another kiss. As they continued to kiss, Aichi's arms made their way up Kai's chest and wrapped around the brunet's neck. Kai lowered the hand on Aichi's cheek and it joined his other arm, wrapping around the winged male's waist. The kiss started out slow and passionate, but it eventually grew rough and lustful. This was especially the case on Kai's end. As they kissed, the older male once again had gotten a whiff of Aichi's scent, and while he was perfectly fine the last couple of times, kissing Aichi while getting a whiff of his scent had reawakened the beast within him. He turned them around so Aichi was closer to the wall and then pushed the winged male against the hard surface. Kai's kiss and touches grew more forceful, less like a man loving his precious person and more an animal satisfying its urges, and it was further amplified with his fangs and claws showing.

"Kai!" Aichi cried out, his voice muffled within the kiss. Whether it did the trick or not, the brunet seemed to come to his senses and pull away before he did anything else.

"Sorry…" said Kai. "I almost lost control again."

While his consciousness was indeed back, his fangs and claws had not disappeared yet and the eyes that looked at the blue haired male were gold lizard eyes as opposed to his normally teal eyes. But the gold eyes that stared at Aichi were not the eyes of the monster that bit him, but of a kind creature trying to keep calm and contain himself.

"You must be feeling cold." the brunet continued. "Go back to the bonfire. I'll join back with you once I've calmed down." Aichi complied and walked back to the fire, leaving the older male to his devices.

After a few minutes to himself, Kai had managed to calm down. His nails and teeth were back to normal and he saw his eyes were too once he looked at his reflection in the nearby water. Letting out a relieved sigh, he looked over at Aichi, who was warming his hands by the fire. The atmosphere was awkward after all that. Kai was unsure of what to do after that. He knows that the winged male will say everything's fine, but he still didn't know how to face him.

As if he was able to sense Kai's thoughts, Aichi turned around and looked at the brunet. "Kai? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah…" Kai replied. "I'm heading back over." He gave himself one last look over before joining Aichi at the bonfire. Once he made it back, he sat down a little distance away from the blue haired male, worried he might hurt the younger male again if he was too close. Aichi picked up on Kai's strange behavior and started to get concerned.

"Are you sure nothing's wrong?" the younger male asked.

"... I just don't want to hurt you more than I already have."

Aichi scowled. He moved forward and, before Kai could even react, wrapped his arms around him. Kai tried to get him to let go, not really wanting to take the chance of attacking the winged male tonight, but Aichi persisted on keeping his hold. The brunet eventually gave up, not only because he was getting tired, but after a minute of the other male holding him and Kai himself was still fine after that, he confirmed that nothing bad was going to happen and relaxed.

And just as Kai relaxed, Aichi took this moment to bite the older male's nape.

"OW! What the hell?!" Kai yelped.

The blue haired boy pulled away. "There." said Aichi. "I believe we're even now."

The brunet wasn't sure what the younger male was talking about. "What do you mean 'we're even'?"

"You bit me, I bite you."

Kai brought his hand to the spot where Aichi bit him. It wasn't bleeding. It wasn't even hurting that bad. He frowned. "We're not even."

Aichi was confused. "Why not?"

"... What I did to you was worse."

A sigh escaped the winged male's lips. "I already forgive you for it."

"I don't deserve it."

At this point, Aichi was feeling done with it. He placed his hands on both sides of Kai's face and pulled it so the latter was face to face with him. "Kai… you are allowed to have good things happen to you and be happy. I think you already go through enough as it is. So please, believe me when I say that I'd like to let bygones be bygones."

Kai stared into those sparkling cerulean eyes that looked at him. "... I just never thought you would actually take me back like this, you know?" He averted his eyes and looked at the bonfire. "A lot of things have been happening to me, tilting my whole world on its axis. There are good things about it, but then there is the whole idea that I'm not human. I have begun to wonder a lot about myself; if the person I am now is the real me. My appearance, my personality, the way my mind thinks, what if it is all a lie? And with my lack of memories, it further proves my point. I am beginning to think… that deep down, I might be some kind of monster."

"You're not a monster." Aichi replied with no hesitation.

"What makes you so sure?"

Aichi lowered his hands onto his lap. "I won't lie; I don't deny the idea that… maybe you aren't human. The things that have been going on recently have convinced me that might be the case. But I will tell you this; a monster wouldn't make me happy."

"...But a monster can hurt you."

"Then doesn't that make me a monster as well? I have also hurt people."

"You aren't!" Kai yelled. "You could never do anything like I've done."

"You're right…" Aichi replied. "I have done worse."

"What could you have done that worse of biting someone to the point of making them bleed?"

Aichi was silent at first. He then raised his hands. "Look at my hands." he told the older male. "What do you see?"

The brunet looked down at the winged male's hands. He didn't know where the latter was going with this but decided to play along. "Well, there's dirt from the ground here."

"What else?"

"Rubble."

"Anything else?"

"Nothing."

The blue haired male sighed. "You know what I see? Along with the dirt and rubble of this cave, I see blood stained from my hands; blood that had spilt… when I had taken an innocent life..."

Kai was silent, unable to respond. What could he say though? He had just heard Aichi say he had taken an innocent life. It wouldn't be easy to respond. Aichi noticed this and decided to elaborate.

He explained to the brunet what happened a few days before he ended up on Earth; about the castle ruins that may have belonged to the Red Winged Clan, the red dragon that was there possessed by the Void, how he would've almost died if Misaki had not been there to help him, and how these events led to him to killing the dragon. He then told him that despite the dragon thanking him in the end, Aichi had only felt guilt. He wished that he would have figured out another way to save the giant creature, to have been properly aware of the Void and to have come up with another solution for it all.

As he listened, Kai could only sit there as Aichi told him everything with a pained voice. Was that what the winged male had to endure living on the Cloudlands; what all the winged being had to endure?Aichi wasn't even crying, but it was still heartbreaking to hear him talk like that. Kai pulled Aichi into another embrace.

"Aichi…" the older male called the blue haired male's name in a hushed voice. "If I have the power to do so, I will make it that you never have to be forced to kill again."

The younger male returned the embrace. "I don't know if that would be possible… but thank you." He looked up at the man holding him. "Please don't ever call yourself a monster."

Kai said nothing. He only held the winged male tighter and planted a kiss on the latter's forehead. The two sat within each other's arms in front of the bonfire, radiating warmth and love as they stayed there in silence. But eventually, Aichi couldn't take the silence anymore. He wanted to hear the brunet's voice, to rid him of his uneasiness.

"Hey, Kai?" he spoke up in a soft voice. "Could you tell me more about seashells?"

The older male looked down at the blue haired male in shock. "You still want to know about seashells?! Even after what I told you?"

Cerulean meet teal as Aichi looked up. "Is that bad? I mean, I'm sad the poor mollusks have to die to produce something as lovely as seashells, but one cannot change the way life is. Besides, it's one of the many things about Earth that I have yet to learn about. There are so many things that Earth has that doesn't exist; the ocean, seashells, all the delicious food, customs, I want to know more!" Aichi noticed how he was rambling on. "Sorry… I tend to go on a tangent with stuff like this."

Kai chuckled. He liked how Aichi's eyes sparkle when he talks about something he's passionate about. He assured the younger male that everything was okay. As soon as he did, he proceeded to tell Aichi the trivia he learned about seashells, about the various types and how they could be used for jewelry or even musical instruments, receiving various expressions of awe and wonderment. Eventually, the discussion moved on to different things, starting with things you could find on Earth, and then before they knew it they began to talk about things on the Cloudlands that didn't have anything to do with the Void. The two were smiling and laughing, enjoying themselves to the best of their abilities despite the circumstances.

After a while, the two males eventually grew tired. They put out the bonfire using the water in the cave and then looked for a good spot to sleep before lying down in each other's arms. Kai suggested that Aichi retract his wings back into his body just in case. The blue haired boy did as suggested. They said goodnight to each other, complete with a goodnight kiss before snuggling closer to each other before falling to sleep. They were both glad that they were able to reconcile this very night and return to each other peacefully.

As of the next day, they would no longer be mere acquaintances, but instead be that of star crossed lovers.


	25. Chapter 24: Vacation Romance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally, the story is caught up to where it is on FFn. I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. I will be releasing a new chapter in January, so Happy Holidays guys I hope you have a fantastic New Year!

The morning after the storm was absolutely breathtaking. Not a single cloud remained in the sky as the seagulls flew. The waves of the ocean were also calm, welcoming to anyone that may want to jump in. It was a serene sight.

A groan escaped his lips as Kai woke up from his pleasant slumber. The first thing he saw was not the clear sky or the ocean, but a sight he found even more beautiful. Snuggled in his arms was Aichi, still fast asleep, wearing nothing but his underwear, his thin body fully exposed for the brunet to gaze at. Kai couldn't keep his eyes off that sleeping figure. He ran his fingers through the younger male's soft blue hair; his heart feeling lighter with every strand he brushed.

The night before had felt like a dream. He was convinced that Aichi would want nothing to do with him after everything that happened or be repulsed by the burns on his body. He had feared that he would only be seen as a monster in the cerulean eyes he loved gazing at. But this was reality, and the truth was that Aichi had accepted the brunet for who he was. There were no words to describe how happy Kai was feeling.

As much as he didn't want to disturb the sleeping boy who looked so peaceful, the older male knew he had to. Now that the storm has cleared up, they needed to return to the others to assure them that they were okay. Kai began tapping the blue haired male's shoulder, calling his name in a soft tone but still loud enough to be heard. Aichi groaned before rolling onto his back and his eyes fluttered open; cerulean meeting teal.

"Morning…" Aichi greeted the other male groggily with a smile.

Kai smiled back. "Morning."

The blue haired male raised his hand and caressed the older male's cheek. Kai leaned into the touch, desiring the warmth that radiated from it. Aichi brought his other hand to Kai's other cheek and pulled the latter's head forward so that their lips met. The brunet let out a pleased hum as they kissed; pulling the younger male up from the ground so the smaller of the two was sitting on his lap. They kissed for a couple minutes (just enough that Kai wouldn't lose control from it) before the taller male pulled away.

"The storm has lifted." he pointed out. "We should get going."

Aichi glanced at the cave entrance. "So it has."

Kai placed a kiss on the top of the blue haired male's head before helping him up on his feet. Now that they were both standing, Kai walked over to where he put the clothes. He gathered Aichi's wet clothes and then tossed them over to him before putting on his own. Once they were fully dressed, they did one last check to make sure they didn't miss anything before leaving the cave and were on their way to the resort.

Now that the storm has passed, it was easier for them to figure out where they were. Luckily, the beach they were at wasn't too far from the resort though would still be quite a walk. Not wanting to waste any time, they immediately began walking to the direction of the building. As soon as they made it halfway, Aichi let out a huge yawn as he began to sway.

"Are you still tired?" Kai asked.

"A little…" Aichi muttered. "I didn't sleep well the night before. I had…" Another yawn. "... a lot of things on my mind. But it's been settled now."

"Has it?"

The younger male gave a tired smile. "We are together again, right?"

Kai was at a loss for words. Why was it that every little thing the winged prince did would fill him with so much joy? He walked closer to the blue haired boy and knelt down with his back facing him. "I'll carry you the rest of the way so you can get some more sleep.

Aichi was surprised with the sudden suggestion. "No, it's fine." he replied. "I can walk the rest of the way."

"You're not really convincing me with your legs wobbling like that."

As if on cue, Aichi's legs gave way and he fell on Kai's back. The sudden force caused the brunet to fall forward, letting out a big "Oof!" as he hit the ground. Kai turned his head to look at the younger male. "And you said you were fine to walk the rest of the way…"

The blue haired male let out a sheepish laugh. He hated how pathetic he looked in front of Kai. The older male had gone days without proper sleep and yet he always seemed okay. Aichi wanted to appear strong to look worthy of being by Kai's side. As he was deep in his thoughts, he didn't realize the brunet standing up with the prince still on his back until he spoke up.

"Just sleep." Kai told him. "This might be your only chance knowing Miwa and the others. They probably have something planned for us once we get back."

"Possibly…" Aichi rested his head on Kai's shoulder as the latter began walking. "I tend to always cause trouble for you, don't I?"

"You do." Kai replied bluntly, receiving a crestfallen sigh from the blue haired male. "But you've also gotten us out of trouble, like what happened last night. I would… probably be dead by now if it wasn't for you. Thank you."

"I should be thanking you!" Aichi exclaimed. "We fell into the ocean and you got us back to shore, taking shelter in the cave right?"

"But that was after you saved me when I was hanging for dear life on the cliff."

"But you freed me from Kyou's grasp by breathing fire out of the blue!"

"And then you used your light magic to stop them dead in their tracks. Believe me, Aichi. We got out of that situation mainly because of you."

Aichi was silent for a minute. "... What do you mean I used my light magic?"

Kai stopped walking. "Yeah, Kyou tried to attack us again and you used your magic to create an explosion of light to stop him in his tracks."

"... An explosion of light? I can't do that."

Teal eyes widened. "What do you mean? You did that against the Black Winged Clan. Don't you remember? Your eyes began glowing and then you shot some magic out of your hand to create that explosion."

Aichi grew confused. "I remember everything until after you breathed fire on Kyou's dark magic. The next thing I remember…" He stopped. He couldn't tell Kai about the red creature he briefly saw when he opened his eyes. He didn't even know if it was real or if it was a dream. He didn't want to worry the brunet more than he already had.

"The next thing you remember…?" Kai repeated.

"... I was in the cave with you." Aichi responded.

Kai was silent for a minute. "So you forgot about it… Admittedly, it didn't seem like you were yourself when you cast your magic. You acted that way when you scored the win for us during the volleyball match."

"Did I?" Slender hands gripped tighter. "I don't remember winning the match either… And it's not just that. How I was able to speak your language, how I'm able to speak to animals; I don't know how I'm able to do that either. And as far as I know, I'm the only one that can do that…"

Tired from all the talking, Aichi finally fell asleep. Kai lowered his head, looking down at the sand below him as he walked. It seemed like the longer they know each other, the more they learn how similar they are. Aichi was like him; an outcast among his people, capable of things no one else could accomplish. He frowned. He wished there was something he could do to help ease the young prince of his misery. But what could he do? He had just as much knowledge on Aichi's powers as the person in question did.

As he contemplated what to do, they eventually made it back to the resort. Kai freed one hand to open the front door and headed to their room. As soon as he reached the room door, he was greeted by two familiar faces.

"There you are!" Morikawa cried out with Izaki following right behind him. "What happened to-?!"

Kai shushed them before gesturing to the sleeping boy on his back. Understanding what was going on, the two males moved out of the way so Kai could take Aichi to one of the futons and tucked him in. As he did so, Miwa and Tsukiko, who had heard Morikawa's outburst, had appeared in front of the door from their room.

They all watched in awe as Kai made sure the sleeping blue haired boy was comfortable; a gentle, loving expression shown all over his face. None of them knew what had happened during the time the two were gone, but whatever it was seemed to be good. Tsukiko told Miwa and the others that she wished to speak to Kai alone. With no hesitation, the three males left; the only people remaining were the blonde woman, the spiky haired brunet, and the sleeping male.

"Where were you?" Tsukiko asked in a quiet voice, not wanting to disturb Aichi from his slumber.

Kai was unsure in how to respond. He couldn't tell her they had a run in with some guys and almost got themselves killed. However, he couldn't lie to her either. "... We got into some trouble and since we didn't know where to go with the storm, we took shelter in a nearby cave."

Unbeknownst to him, the older woman knew he wasn't being completely honest with her. She didn't let it bother her though. She could understand why he was. As far as Kai was concerned, she and Miwa were ordinary humans. She couldn't tell him otherwise or that would lead to a discussion she wished to avoid; the topic of who Kai really was. She crossed her arms, looking down at the ground. "I was worried sick… I was afraid something bad might've happened to you… that you would've ended up the same as…"

She didn't need to continue. Kai understood exactly what she meant. He looked up at the ceiling. "I suppose if I did, I could give the old man hell for the way he had always treated me."

"Do not joke about that!" Tsukiko snapped before realizing her volume as soon as she heard Aichi groan in his sleep, and thus tried to lower her voice back down. "I loved your parents. They were like a family I never had, always being there for me in times of distress and even helped me when I was pregnant with Taishi. And…" She walked over to Kai and pulled him into a big embrace. "I love you, Toshiki. You are the child of the people I love. When they…" Tears began to fall down her cheeks. "... When they died, I had felt like I had also died that day. I didn't just lose two precious friends; I had lost a part of my family. And Toshiki… I don't want to lose you like I lost them… And when you didn't come back last night with the others… I..."

Kai just stood in silence as the woman holding him cried. He had no idea on how to respond. He wasn't that good at comforting people. He could only stand there like a statue as Tsukiko let out all her tears. He just hoped all this wouldn't wake Aichi up and was relieved to see that it hadn't.

After some time had passed, Tsukiko eventually calmed down. "I apologize." she said, letting out a sniffle. "Just please promise me you'll try not to scare me like that again."

The brunet remained silent. He wasn't sure if he could promise something he had no control over. However, he replied with a simple nod to help ease her insecurity. The blonde woman took it as a yes and began to walk out the door. But before she closed the door and left, she said one more thing.

"Meet us at the dining hall once Aichi is awake."

Once Tsukiko was gone, Kai took a few steps before lying down beside Aichi, staring at the sleeping boy's face. Staring at his sleeping face brought back so many memories of the night he found him rising from the lake in the park. He couldn't believe half a month had already passed. In just another half month, Aichi would be returning to the Cloudlands. This brought a bittersweet feeling onto Kai. He would be happy to see Aichi finally get to return home, but that would mean they would be separated from each other for another month at least.

And that wasn't all. If the Gold Winged Clan were as strict as Aichi said, then it was possible that they would be separated for longer. It was possible that they might make sure Aichi never returns to Earth. He didn't want that. He didn't want to lose Aichi. Despite that though, he had meant it before when he said he wished not to force the winged prince to stay by his side on Earth. He knew how much Aichi loved flying and and he didn't want to take that away from him. He didn't know what to do.

His thoughts were interrupted as he noticed cerulean eyes opening. The two of them were staring for a minute before Kai spoke up. "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

Aichi shook his head. "No. I just felt like waking up." He sat up and looked around. "Where is everyone?"

"Miss Tsukiko told me we should meet with them in the dining hall once you were awake." Kai replied. His eyes then widened as he realized something. "But first, there's something I need to give you."

He got up, walked over to his bag, and digged through to grab something. Aichi stood up as well and walked over to the older male, curious of what he was going to be given. Once he found what he was looking for, he pulled it out and handed it over. It was the dragon pendant.

Aichi gasped as he took it off Kai's hand. "I can't believe I had almost forgotten this…"

"You should keep it safe with you." said Kai. "After all, isn't it a precious memento?"

Cerulean eyes gazed at him with surprise. He was right. This pendant was supposed to be a memento of sorts. But a memento of what? And how did Kai know it was a memento? So many questions keep popping up and it was frustrating him. But he didn't want to worry Kai so he kept it bottled up. Instead, he held the pendant close to his chest and responded with a thank you.

As Kai was about to go through his bag for a change of clothes (he suggested that it would be a good idea that they change so they're not wearing the same clothes two days in a row), a familiar object came into view. It was the Cloudlands book. He had a realization.

"Aichi?" he called out to the blue haired boy. "There's something I want you to look at."

Confused as to what he could mean, Aichi walked over and looked at the object in Kai's hands. Upon seeing what it was, he let out another gasp as he took the book out of the brunet's hands and examined it. "This book... this is a book from the Cloudlands, no doubt about it! And the cover… the texture of the wood and how it's carved… I've only seen it with some of the more ancient books of one hundred thousand years ago. It's even more apparent with how worn the pages are." He faced Kai. "How did a book from the Cloudlands make its way here? And how did it end up in your possession?"

The older male shook his head. "I can't answer that first question. As for the second question, it was given to me as an early birthday gift… from Miss Tsukiko."

Cerulean eyes widened. "Miss Tsukiko? But then how did she get her hands on this book?"

"I don't know," Kai replied, "But I have to admit, she's starting to appear suspicious when I think about it."

Aichi looked confused. "What do you mean?"

The older male looked at the blue haired male. "Well, think about it. She had possession of a book from the Cloudlands. And she has been raising me, who isn't actually human. I don't believe she couldn't have known about me. She's an old family friend." Teal eyes widened. "Wait… the day after you and her met; the day I brought back food and the fan… she asked me some personal questions…"

"Personal questions?"

"Anything regarding my memories or my health, like…" The brunet ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to remember. "Random pains, unable to breathe at times… feeling faint… a hard time sleeping... and telling me that if that were to happen… to tell her before it was… too… late..."

Kai's words slowed down as he realized something. His eyes met Aichi's, who also seemed to realize it too as he heard it. Every single thing Kai had listed off had been happening to him these past few days. So it was true; Tsukiko had to have known something. The older male began marching towards the door, determined to know was up. But before he could leave, Aichi blocked his way.

"Wait, Kai!" the blue haired male cried out. "I don't think it's a good idea to confront her just yet."

Kai stared at him in confused frustration. "What do you mean?!" he asked. "She knows something! I know she does!"

"I just think we should hold off until after the trip; wait until we can talk to her face to face without any interruptions. We have plenty of time to talk with her after the trip."

"We have half a month and rehearsal for the play will take up a lot of that time. It's going to fly by quickly."

"I'm sure we can squeeze a bit of time." Aichi took Kai's hands into his, giving him a loving smile. "Besides… this is the last day. I want to spend it with you."

Kai's heart melted seeing that smile. "But what about the book? Don't you want to hurry and read it?"

"I can do so tonight. But right now…" He gave the bigger hands a little squeeze. "I want to go out and have fun with you. Is that bad?"

The older male adjusted his hands so that it was his hands that wrapped themselves around the other boy's. He smiled. "Not at all. If you'll have me, I'd be more than happy to spend the last day of the trip with you."

Aichi stepped closer until there was barely any distance, staring deep into each other's eyes. "There's no one else I'd rather spend it with." They wrapped their arms around each other as they pulled each other into a long, passionate kiss. As they kissed, the warmth they felt as they pressed their bodies against each other radiating off themselves, melding together as if it were the warmth of a single entity. They were so deeply infatuated with each other and in their own little world, they didn't notice someone walking in until they heard a whistle, snapping them out of their trance.

"Wow! We leave you alone for a bit and you end up making out in front of the door. You two are quite something."

The two males pulled away in a flash as they looked over to see Miwa standing there at the door; a giant grin planted on his face. Aichi's face was glowing red in embarrassment upon being caught by the blond male, averting his eyes to his ground. Kai on the other hand was rather annoyed that his best friend showed up when he did, but at the same time was a little relieved they were stopped before the brunet would lose control again.

"Hurry up and change your clothes!" Miwa continued. "We shouldn't waste a second of this trip!"

Kai looked over at Aichi, who was still embarrassed. He then looked back at the blond male. "Miwa? Mind if I talk with you alone in your room for a minute?"

Miwa's eyes widened. He pretended to be shy. "Wow, Kai! Asking me to invite you to my room alone in front of your new boyfriend? I had no idea you were the kind of guy that would openly cheat on your lover."

"Not like that, idiot!" Kai snapped. "I need to talk to you in private about something I can't talk about in front of..."

A chuckle escaped Miwa's mouth. "I'm just messing with you, buddy. Yeah, we can talk for a bit." He looked over at the blue haired male. "Hope you don't mind, Aichi."

Aichi, who had slightly recovered, shook his head. "Why would I mind? I'm fine waiting."

Confident that Aichi would be okay, the two older males walked out and headed into Miwa and Tsukiko's room. Once they were sure they would have some privacy, Miwa was the first to speak up. "So what did you want to talk about, Kai?"

Kai stood there with his arms crossed; an expression even more serious than it usually was. "What is it that you want?"

The blond male was confused. "What do you mean?"

"We made a bet on whether Aichi and I would end up together again or not. Well, we're together again, so you won the bet. You never said what you wanted if you won. So I'm asking you what you want."

Miwa scratched his head. "Gee Kai. In all honesty, I never really wanted anything from you making this bet. I just wanted to help you get back together with Aichi. You don't have to give me anything."

The brunet scowled. "I won't accept that. You won the bet so you should get something out of it."

"Well, in that case…" Miwa began to ponder. A grin grew on his face as soon as he knew what he wanted. "... I want you to take back your role as Draco. It would be great if you did."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "That's it? Surely you have something else."

"Then I also want you to say that I'm the most awesome friend you've ever had."

The room became silent. "... What do you gain from all this? You have to have a reason."

Silence filled the room once again. After a minute, Miwa, whose expression grew more serious, left out a big sigh. "When we were kids, you were someone who had this air of confidence to him; who would always smile no matter how bleak something got. And whenever I was with you… I was proud. I wanted to brag and say 'Hey! This awesome guy is my best friend; my brother!' And then ten years ago happened and… well, you know.

"Ever since you met Aichi, you've been slowly reverting back to the way you were before. You've been smiling a lot more and you've been a lot friendlier. I don't expect you to go back exactly to who you were ten years ago, but I'd like to see some of the old Kai back. After all, you're my friend, and your happiness is my happiness."

Kai was left speechless. It was true a few days ago Miwa had expressed how much he cared for the brunet; how he'd do anything for him, but what he did the day before proved how far he was willing to go for his friend and brother. It brought a feeling to Kai that words couldn't express. It was a deep, emotional bond, but not in the same way he felt towards Aichi. With Aichi, it was as if he had found a missing part of himself he never knew he lost. But with Miwa, it was like a form of camaraderie; a brotherhood.

"... Miwa?" Kai spoke up. He stared down at the floor, embarrassed with what he was about to say, for he was about to say something he needed to get off his chest for a long time but was unable to do so until this moment. "... Thanks for being there for me."

The blond male smiled. He walked towards his friend and gave him a good pat on the shoulder. "Anytime, buddy." His smile grew a mischievous grin. "Now, you need to say that I'm the most awesome friend you've ever had."

The brunet scowled at his friend. "You've gotta be kidding…"

"A deal's a deal, Kai." Miwa replied, his grin not faltering. "I told you what I wanted for winning this bet. It's time for you to pay up. Besides, it's fun to see you get all embarrassed."

"What happened to all that stuff you said earlier?"

"What can I say? I love to tease you. You shouldn't expect anything less from me."

After a few minutes of annoying him, Miwa was able to get Kai to say what he wanted him to say, though the latter wasn't too enthusiastic about saying it. The blond male accepted it with a bright smile and the two left the room to be greeted by Aichi, who had changed his clothes and had been waiting outside for them patiently. Kai went into the room to change his own clothes while Aichi and Miwa waited outside for him. As they waited, a question had been nagging in Aichi's mind as he looked over at the older male beside him. If Tsukiko seemed to know something about Kai's origins, Miwa had to know as well. After all, with how close the two were, it would be a surprise if he didn't know anything. Aichi took a deep breath, prepared to take the plunge.

"Um, Miwa?" he spoke up, getting the other male's attention. "I'm guessing since you and Kai have known each other for a long time, that you know about… well, you know… what Kai hides under his shirt…?"

Miwa raised an eyebrow. "Why do you want to know? Because if you want to tell you, I'm afraid I-!"

Aichi shook his head. "That wasn't what I… I mean, maybe if there's any details you know of that Kai doesn't remember… but I mean-!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" It was Miwa's turn to interrupt, appearing rather surprised. "Did Kai show you?" The blue haired male paused before giving a small nod. The older male smiled. "So, he opened up to you on that front. The fact that he did that really shows how much he likes and trusts you." He averted his gaze as he frowned. "Sadly though, I can't really tell you more than what Kai has told you."

The younger male felt touched with the first part but grew confused with the second part. "Why not?" he asked. "He told me he didn't remember much of the incident and I'm sure he'd like to know details of what happened."

Guilt welled up within Miwa. He wanted nothing more than to tell Kai the truth about everything; his origin, his past, everything that led to this very moment. As much as he wanted to though, he couldn't. His mother gave him strict instructions not to tell in fear of what could possibly happen, especially after what happened ten years ago. He kept silent, afraid that if he opened his mouth, everything would spill.

He wouldn't have to keep silent for long though, for Kai had finished getting dressed in clean clothes and had went out to meet them. With all three of them ready, they headed out to the dining hall where the others were waiting for them. Like the previous night, the room was bustling with the amount of people there with the sound of karaoke flooding the room, though the line for karaoke was not as big as it was before. Miwa, Morikawa, and Izaki were having fun discussing over what to do on their final day at the resort, not wanting to waste any time. Tsukiko appeared to be looking over her phone while taking a bite of her meal every couple of minutes. Kai remained silent, focusing on his food, completely uninterested with everything around him.

At least, that seemed to be the case until he felt something warm wrap around his hand under the table. He looked down to see a smaller hand holding his belonging only to the blue haired male sitting beside him. Kai looked back up to see Aichi giving him a small smile before averting his gaze with red cheeks. The brunet felt his own cheeks heat up with slight embarrassment. He couldn't believe Aichi would be so bold to hold his hand in public like this. Regardless, he was touched by the younger male's affectionate actions and returned it by giving the smaller hand a little squeeze. No one seemed to notice, as if the two were a part of a world separate from everything else going on.

But then a couple of cute, bubbly girls walked over to the group's table, causing the couple to let go. "Excuse me." one of the girls spoke up. "You're the guy that sang karaoke last night, aren't you?"

Morikawa grinned as he stood up, acting proud and mighty. "Yep, that was me! Do you want an autograph after hearing my amazing singing talent?"

The girls scowled at him. "Not from you!" the other girl replied. "Your singing sounded like something dying a slow and painful death! We were talking about this hottie right here." She gestured to Kai.

Everyone stared at the spiky haired brunet in surprise as Kai himself looked at them with widened teal eyes. "Me?!"

"You are an amazing singer!" the first girl remarked. "The way your voice carried the words with the melody, I could feel the emotions behind it."

"Totally!" said the other girl. "So, you here on vacation?"

Miwa frowned as he watched the girls swoon over Kai with the latter unable to properly reply back. This sight was not an unusual one to see. There were many girls back at school that he noticed had crushes on Kai. He couldn't blame them; even he had to admit his friend was a good looking guy. And he had heard there were girls that liked the quiet, aloof types. Some had even tried confessing to him before, but every time, Kai would turn them down in a blunt manner. The blond male would sometimes tease the other male regarding how popular he was, but Kai was never fazed or anything. It was like he never cared.

It would be a lie to say that Miwa had never not understood Kai's thoughts and actions regarding the girls that desired him. He never accepted a single girl's confession nor did he ever pursue them. He would never even react to any of the porn Miwa had him keep at his apartment so as not to worry about his mom finding out and confiscating it. It never occurred to him that his friend would be attracted to another guy. No, that was not quite right. He saw now that it was not a matter of Kai preferring guys, but rather the one he had fallen in love with just happened to be male. Miwa's mom had brought up Aichi to him before and told him about how the young prince had affected Kai, but he never considered the idea of the blue haired boy as some childhood love. He knew now that the only one to bring these emotions out of Kai, it was this boy.

And that same boy had to sit there as these two chatty girls were outright flirting with his boyfriend.

Aichi felt something bitter well up within him as he watched the girls act overly friendly with Kai, like his heart was being tied in tight knots. He grew uncomfortable with the sight. If someone were to try to talk to him, he feared his feelings would overflow. He needed something to help him calm down, but what? Seeing the stage, he knew what to do.

Catching everyone off guard, Aichi stood up immediately and began to walk away from the table. No one knew where he was going, but the group, especially Kai and Miwa, were very concerned. However, they grew even more surprised as soon as they saw the blue haired boy not leave the room, but enter the line for karaoke.

Since the line wasn't that long, it took only a minute before it was Aichi's turn to sing. He made his song choice before going up on stage, not noticing that the DJ was giving him a weird look before shrugging and putting the song in. He may had only been on Earth half a month, but he had mostly memorized a few of them and one of them was perfect for how he was feeling. The music began playing and on cue, he began to sing.

One thing Aichi liked about karaoke was that it didn't matter if you memorized the lyrics or not; so long as you knew the melody, you were golden. But as he sang, he found it strange how the screen seemed to be split in two with the lyrics he was singing on the top. However, it didn't take long for him to realize the grave mistake he made.

This song was meant as a duet.

He was so determined to go up and sing to let out the emotions that were weighing on his heart ( after all, it seemed to work for Kai) that he didn't properly consider his song choice. It wasn't like he knew that many Earth songs and he doubted that any Cloudlands songs were there. He inadvertently did the complete opposite of what he aimed to do. He tried to pretend that he hadn't accidentally chose a duet when he meant to do it solo, but his face easily gave it away. It didn't affect his singing luckily, but that was the least of his worries. Maybe he could try to sing it solo? No, the song was formatted solely for two people. He was doomed.

Or at least he thought so. As soon as it was supposed to be where the other person was supposed to sing, Aichi and the audience were expecting to hear only the background music. No one had noticed that as soon as he realized what song it was, Kai jumped out of his seat and, knowing he wouldn't be able to reach the stage in time for his cue, made his way to the DJ's desk and grabbed the mic there. As he sang, the brunet took the mic, which was portable luckily, and carried it onto the stage where he met with a baffled yet relieved boy.

The performance went off without a hitch. As soon as the surprise of Kai joining the song left, Aichi was able to relax as he continued to sing. The audience excluding Miwa and the others were puzzled on why two boys were singing what was without a doubt a romantic duet, but with the way their voices melded together in perfect harmony and with how much fun the two seemed to be expressing, they didn't really care. There were instances where the two male's eyes met and were almost lost in them, but the music and the eyes watching constantly reminded them where they were.

When the song reached its conclusion, the audience roared with applause, surprisingly louder than when Kai sang the night before despite the smaller crowd. Aichi's cheeks heated up as his whole face turned red, embarrassed with the attention. But as soon as his gaze turned to Kai, the embarrassment changed to pure self disappointment. How pathetic he had to be to have the older male rush to his rescue.

"You were soooooo cool!"

The two males were greeted by the two girls from earlier. As soon as they got off the stage, the girls rushed over and went back to gushing over Kai. The bitter feeling Aichi felt grew worse, adding on to the negative emotions consuming him. The girls noticed Aichi and scowled at him.

"I can't believe you were stupid enough to choose a duet even though you were going to sing solo!" one of the girls scoffed. "You would've embarrassed yourself if your friend didn't rush to your side!"

"I know, right?!" the other girl cruelly remarked. "Geez, you're such a loser! I would feel bad for the girl who decides to date you!"

Those words hurt Aichi. He knew he shouldn't let the words of strangers bring him down, but his low self confidence didn't help. He knew he always caused trouble for Kai. The older male had said so himself even though he added how the blue haired boy also got them out of trouble. More than hurt, he was afraid. What if all this started to annoy Kai and he wanted nothing more to do with the younger male.

Having enough, Kai grabbed Aichi's wrist and glared at the girls. "I don't appreciate you insulting my companion." he growled. "I would never associate myself with anyone who would treat people like shit. I don't want you to approach us again." The girls simply stood still upon the brunet giving his threat. Knowing he had made his point, he stormed out of the dining hall, pulling Aichi along.

Aichi was still silent, staring at Kai's back as the latter pulled him out of the building and across the beach. He was unsure of what to say. No, rather he was afraid to ask something that was on his mind. However, he couldn't keep the silence for long as he felt the older male's grip tighten, causing a pained yelp to slip. Kai, who had been consumed in his irritation and frustration, was snapped out of it as soon as he heard that high pitched sound. He let go immediately and stared down at the sandy ground, trying to avoid eye contact with the blue haired boy.

"Sorry…" he muttered.

"It's fine…" Aichi held the reddened wrist against his chest as he stared at the brunet. What was going through his mind? Was he still thinking about what happened at the dining hall? How did he feel about all that?

Kai began to look around until something caught his eye. He began walking in the same direction of the thing he was looking at. Noticing that the younger male wasn't following him, he called him over. "Let's go over there." Aichi was confused but followed anyway.

They ended up on top of some rocks, isolating themselves from the rest of the people on the beach. Here, they could whatever they wanted and show whatever they wanted without being seen. It was the perfect spot for a private date. Kai found a good spot with a good view of the ocean and sat down, tapping the spot beside him to gesture his companion to sit beside him. Aichi slowly walked forward, feeling a little nervous before also sitting down. He was in awe with the view in front of him; the way the water glittered under the sunlight. The sound of the waves and the seagulls helped him relax a bit, though what the girls said to him still affected him. He didn't know what he would do if Kai actually hated him.

As if on cue, the person in question pulled Aichi's head down so it was leaning against the brunet's shoulder; fingers running through silky ocean blue locks. The younger male was surprised, unsure of the reasoning behind the brunet's actions. He looked up to see real hues staring towards the emerald green ocean.

"Don't let their words get to you." said Kai. "They are the type to judge based on appearances. They are too ignorant to see the person you really are."

Aichi's gaze shifted to the ground. "What kind of person am I?"

"... Someone I feel nothing but positive things towards."

"Even when you have to rush to my rescue everytime?"

"Have I ever complained?"

Cerulean eyes narrowed. "...You said I cause trouble earlier."

"That's not complaining. That was stating a fact."

Aichi pulled away. "People would usually stay away from things that cause trouble. With how much I screw up… I'm surprised you want anything to do with me."

Kai let out a loud, exasperated sigh. "Shouldn't that logic apply to how you feel towards me as well?"

The blue haired boy was confused. "What do you mean?"

"You're hanging out with someone who isn't even human and is most likely, no, is a danger to you. I've already hurt you once. Wouldn't you be better off if you had nothing to do with me?"

"Of course not!" Aichi cried out, feeling almost offended that the older male would even say something like that. "It's true that you hurt me, but the good that you do for me easily outweigh the bad! I can't imagine what things would be like if I never met you."

"Exactly." Kai leaned forward so they were staring straight in each other's eyes. "If I had the choice to go back in time and change everything, I would choose not to. Aichi, you are… I mean…"

The brunet couldn't get what he wanted to say out. It was as if the words would get caught in his throat. He was frustrated about that. But looking into Aichi's face; cerulean eyes glittering and pink lips forming a gentle smile, it told him that he knew what the older male wanted to say. Kai knew that like anything else he's done, if he can't convey his emotions through words, then he must convey them through his actions. He raised his hand and caressed Aichi's cheek, brushing away any stray hairs that got in the way, before pressing his lips lightly onto the blue haired male's lips. He then placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, then to his nose, then his forehead, and finally the top of his head. Aichi his his face in the crook of Kai's neck; his arms wrapped tightly around the older male's torso.

They stayed in that passionate embrace until Aichi commented that it was starting to get very hot. Kai suggested that they go and get something to cool them down, and so they left to the beachfront. They bought a couple bottles of water and were about to head back to the rocks when they heard a familiar voice calling out to them, seeing it belong to a very familiar blond.

"Kai! Aichi!" Miwa called out. "We're gonna smash open a watermelon! You gonna join?!"

The two males looked at each other. Aichi's eyes were gleaming with curiosity and excitement, wanting to see first hand how one smashes open a watermelon. Kai found himself unable to resist and with an amused smile, let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Yeah! We're coming!"

They met up with the others, who were each doing their own thing. Morikawa and Izaki were arguing about something random while Tsukiko was lying down on a blanket under the umbrella. With everyone there, they began to attempt smashing the watermelon. Aichi took mental notes about how this activity was done blindfolded and asked Kai about the purpose of it through a whisper. Kai responded that it wouldn't be as entertaining if they just simply smashed the watermelon.

Miwa, Morikawa, and Izaki attempted but to no avail. It was eventually Aichi's turn. Kai gave the blue haired male some pointers before the latter had the blindfold put on him. As if he had some kind of sixth sense, Aichi was able to pinpoint where the watermelon was and managed to smash it. Everyone cheered, making Aichi a little embarrassed but proud. With the watermelon smashed open, everyone took a piece and began eating. Aichi let out a satisfied hum upon taking a bite of his piece. The fruit seemed to taste even more delicious from breaking it open himself.

The rest of the day was spent with everyone breaking up into separate groups. Miwa relaxed under the umbrella beside his mom as he wasn't up to any particular activity. Morikawa and Izaki decided to go swimming in the ocean; not wanting to waste this precious, once in a while opportunity. As for Kai, he and Aichi began doing something the latter had seen on TV and wanted to do while he had this chance; build a sandcastle. The brunet normally wouldn't want to be involved in such an activity, but decided to do so without complaining if that meant he could continue to stare at the younger male's beautiful smile.

They all went on with their respective activities until it was near dinnertime. They returned to the dining hall and ate their food, watching the different people singing karaoke. As they entered the room, they ended up bumping into the two girls from before. However, the girls didn't approach them, for they were still affected by Kai's words. Morikawa complained that Kai screwed up his chance to score, but knew to shut up the moment he noticed Aichi get uncomfortable over the topic.

After they ate, it grew dark outside. Morikawa, carrying a box of fireworks, suggested that they light some of them up, saying that a beach vacation is not complete without fireworks. And so, everyone began to play with the fireworks. Aichi was amazed with the different types there were. He himself was holding a sparkler, entranced with the blue sparks. He watched the sparkler until it went out, a little bummed that it did. Fireworks were truly amazing. If he could, he would love to bring fireworks back with him and show them to his kingdom. How wonderful it would be.

He then noticed that Kai was nowhere to be seen. He asked the others if they had seen him, but they didn't know anything either. He decided to look for the brunet, and he already knew the first place to look.

And indeed, his first guess to look was exactly where the older make was. Kai was sitting in the rocky area they were earlier, staring at the ocean. Aichi walked over, alerting the other male of his presence.

"Are you okay?" Aichi asked out of concern.

"I'm fine." Kai replied, his eyes glued to the ocean. "Just wanted some time to myself."

The blue haired male frowned. "Would you rather I leave?"

Kai shook his head. "You can stay if you want."

Having been given permission, Aichi sat down at a spot beside Kai, staring in the same direction the taller male was looking at. The night sky above them was covered with many twinkling stars, which were reflected on the ocean, creating the illusion that the water was glowing. Aichi was mesmerized by the sight. It was even more breathtaking than the sight of the fireworks.

"If we were at the cliff we were at last night," Kai spoke up, "I'm sure the sight would've been better."

Aichi smiled. "I think it's wonderful already..."

The two sat in silence, absorbing the view before them. Aichi was unsure as to why Kai wanted to be here alone. Maybe he wanted to see this sight? He wouldn't blame him; Aichi was glad that that he searched for the brunet or he would never had experienced such a beautiful view.

"... Wouldn't you rather light fireworks with the others?" Kai asked curiously.

"I'm fine here." Aichi replied. His cheeks turned red. "Besides, I told you that I wanted to spend the day with you."

Kai's cheeks turned red in response. He found that the younger male was too straightforward sometimes. Despite that, he was deeply touched by the sentiment. If only he could be that straightforward with his feelings. He could reveal his thoughts and opinions easily, but when it came to his feelings…

That was why he was going to show just how much the winged prince meant to him by his actions; to do things that would keep that radiant smile on the blue haired male's face. He stood up, surprising the younger male. "There's very little time before we have to leave tomorrow. Is there anything you want to do while we have this chance?"

Aichi looked up at the older male. "You've done more than enough. You've done do much to fulfill my selfish request. You don't have to do anymore-!"

"Anything at all that I can do for you."

The blue haired male lowered his head. It was clear that he wasn't going to change his mind. "There is something… but we don't have to do it…"

"What is it?"

"... Everyone looked like they had fun swimming in the ocean."

There was silence. "Why didn't you go swimming then?" Kai asked. "If it's about your wings, I told you that it would just look like a tattoo to everyone, so you would be fine-!"

Aichi shook his head. "I know you said that. But I already told you; I wanted to spend the entire day with you, and I know you wouldn't be comfortable swimming in front of people with…"

Kai understood what the younger male meant. Aichi could be very stubborn at times. It was incredible how similar they were at times. He had an idea. He began stripping, causing the blue haired male to panic.

"What are you doing?!" Aichi cried out. "Aren't you afraid that someone will see?!"

The brunet smirked. "They can't see if I'm somewhere where they can't see." Before Aichi could question what he meant, as soon as he took off everything but his underwear, Kai dived into the water. When he rose up, teal eyes met with cerulean as Aichi stood there speechless.

"Come on." Kai inquired. "You wanted to swim, didn't you?"

Aichi snapped out of his dumbstruck state. "Are you sure it's okay?"

"Just as long as you don't come in naked."

The blue haired male's face was bright red as he put his hand into the water, splashing the water at the older male's direction. "I would never!" he cried out, receiving an amused chuckle in response. Even so, Aichi began to take his clothes off until he too was only in his underwear before sitting down near the edge and putting his feet in. Kai swam over and picked the smaller male up, carrying him a little ways away from the rocks before putting him down, yet kept his hold on him.

"You better hold your breath." Kai told him. Aichi was about to question when he noticed the brunet sinking, dragging the younger male with him. Aichi managed to let in a deep breath before he had submerged into the water. The liquid stinged his eyes a bit as he kept them open, but it didn't take long before it stopped and the sight before him was crystal clear. Kai's face was close to his, both their hair flowing around. The older male's expression was gentle and loving under the little light they had from the stars and Aichi couldn't stop himself from smiling. But that smile disappeared when he felt Kai's hands shift so he held Aichi as if they were about to perform a waltz. The surprise caused Aichi to accidentally open his mouth and let out all the breath he had saved and he forced himself out of Kai's arms so he could return to the surface.

As soon as he had air again, Aichi let out some hoarse coughs as he spit out the water that got in. Kai joined him back on the surface, concerned for the younger male. As soon as he got the coughs out of the system, the blue haired male scowled at the taller male.

"Why does the ocean water taste so terrible?" he questioned as he tried to get the taste out of his mouth.

Kai chuckled. "That's because ocean water can't be drinkable. It's salt water; the same type of water tears are made of."

Aichi's eyes widened. "You mean the ocean is made of tears?! That's terrible! I feel so bad for the person or people whose tears were used to create the ocean! I hope they feel better."

"The ocean isn't actually made out of tears." the brunet explained. "They are just both made out of the same water."

"Then how was the ocean made?"

The older male was silent. "... I have no clue."

A giggle escaped the blue haired boy's lips. He took the other male's hands and then took another deep breath before going back underwater. Kai took another deep breath as well before joining the younger male. They took their previous positions as they appeared to start an underwater waltz, but this time Aichi was prepared. Small orbs of light formed from his fingertips and they flew around, providing more light around them.

The two began their underwater dance, twirling while locked in a passionate embrace, radiating a tender warmth within the otherwise cold sea. The orbs of light circled around them as if they were dancing along. They continued until they both felt their lungs burning and popped up back to the surface needing air; Kai lifting Aichi up for the dance finale. As soon as they made it back up, the lights shot up from within the water and towards the sky, creating fireworks. The two males looked up at the fireworks, in awe with the spectacle. They just hoped that no one noticed where they came from. They would have trouble explaining how fireworks came up from within the ocean.

Suddenly, Aichi adjusted himself so his head was resting against the older male's broad chest. Kai was caught off guard with the sudden action. He couldn't see the blue haired boy's face, but with the way his body was relaxed, it didn't seem like anything was wrong. He received even more assurance as Aichi softly spoke a few words.

"Thank you for the wonderful day."

Kai returned the thanks by tightening the embrace, resting his head on top of the younger male's. Although he wouldn't say so, he had a wonderful time as well. The day was so great, a part of him wished it would never end. But he knew they had to return home the next day and then it would be back to rehearsal and then, as soon as the month reaches its end, Aichi would have to return to the Cloudlands. He didn't want to part with the winged male, but what could he do?

It wasn't as if Kai come along with Aichi back to the Cloudlands… right?

The air around them grew cold and Aichi began to shiver. Kai took this as a sign that they should get out, get dressed, and return to the resort. They put on their shirts and shoes but didn't bother with their pants as they would just get soaked, and as soon as they were ready, they began heading back.

Neither of them noticed that someone was watching them return.

From her room's balcony, Tsukiko noticed the two boys walking towards the building. She had grown tired and excused herself from the others, wanting to return to her room. She had noticed the fireworks in the sky and came out to get a good look. That was what led to her noticing the boys.

She observed closely. Aichi appeared to be talking about something while Kai listened in silence with a loving gaze. Her son had already told her that the two boys were now back together and Kai would come back to play as Draco in the play as a result, but seeing the way they were interacting, she knew for certain that was the case.

However, the whole thing made her grow uneasy.

Sure, her play would be able to run properly with the actors needed, but she believed that allowing them to be together provided too great a risk. After what happened ten years ago, she wished for the incident to never happen again. She had to make sure it would never happen again. She let out a long, drawn out sigh as she looked up at the sky, staring straight at the moon.

"Haru… I can't do this on my own. Help me protect Toshiki."

XxXxX

Upon returning to their room, Kai and Aichi realized they were the first ones to come back. Everyone else must've still been playing with fireworks. The boys took this as an opportunity to quickly get dried off properly and change clothes before the others got back. Just as they put the last of the clean clothes on, Morikawa and Izaki walked in.

"Where the hell did you guys go?!" Morikawa questioned them. "First, Aichi brings up Kai's disappearance and then the next thing we know, Aichi also disappears!"

"It's none of your business as to where we were." Kai replied nonchalantly.

Aichi, noticing that the raven haired male was fired up enough to want to start a fight, spoke up. "What Kai means is that we just wanted to spend some time alone."

Morikawa huffed. "If that's all, you could've told us. We would've given you your space."

"Sorry." Aichi replied with a sheepish smile.

"Well, that's all in the past." Izaki spoke up. "I don't know about you guys, but I had a blast here!"

Everyone except Kai voiced their agreements. With how late it was getting and with how tired everyone was, it was decided that they would turn in for the night. They all got into their futons and went to sleep.

That was everyone except Aichi. Now that he had spent the day with Kai, he was now anxious to read the Cloudlands book. He needed to know what knowledge was contained within these pages; if there was anything that could explain his powers. He used his magic to light up the tip of his finger, bright enough that it help him read in the darkness but dim enough that it wouldn't disturb the others from sleeping. He skimmed through the pages, finding nothing of interest, until he noticed one particular passage:

_After they created the Cloudlands, the first rulers of the six clans each received powers unique only to those six. These powers were believed to have been given to them by the Cloudlands itself, which may or may not be its own entity. No one knows why it gave the six rulers these powers, but they were certainly not the last, for it would seem these powers are passed down within the clans._

_It is clearly not a genetic trait, for these powers have been shown to have been granted to some outside the royal families. No one knows for certain the pattern to which particular individuals are given this power. The only things we know is that only one individual per clan obtains these powers and that these powers are transferred to children after the previous user has passed on._

_We do not know the full details to the extent of these powers, however some of the symptoms these individuals have experienced include: enhanced intelligence, enhanced magic, predicting the future, hearing voices from the various wildlife on the Cloudlands, moments of fainting, being unable to remember instances where one or all of the above has listed. There are theories that if the certain individual wishes for it, they could become one with the Cloudlands._

_This power originally did not have a name. However, as the news of this phenomenon had spread within the clans, a name was formed. From the moment this book is within the hands of you, the reader, the power is officially given the name-!_

Aichi was disturbed from his reading as Morikawa let out a loud snore. The blue haired boy figured it was time to go to sleep. As he put the book away and moved back to his futon, shifting so he and Kai were lying close together, the words of the book ran through his mind. The power mentioned in the book; it sounded like the mysterious power he owned. And the fact that it listed the ability to predict the future; that sounded like the ability King Ren mentioned he had. A power supposedly given to him by the Cloudlands itself. Was it really possible? And if so, for what purpose was he chosen?

These thoughts ran through his head as he closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep. Though there were still some unanswered questions, he was taking a step in the right direction. He now knew the origin of these powers, the fact that they were given to individuals of each clan, and most importantly, he knew what this power was actually called. As his mind slowly turned to black, the name of said power kept echoing in his mind.

Psyqualia.


	26. Chapter 25: A Ruler's Request

The streets of the Kingdom of the Green Winged Clan were bustling like always. With people walking around, shopping, and chatting amongst themselves, how could they not? However, this proved as a problem for Asaka as she had no idea where her subordinate was. She was not used to crowds on the streets, for the streets in the Kingdom of the Black Winged Clan were usually deserted. She would like to hurry and finish her business so she could return to her beloved king's side.

After about a half an hour of roaming around, she caught sight of the one she was looking for; a man with long, unkempt silver hair with black wings just like her. He was sitting at a table in front of a small bar, chugging down his drink. She had no idea what he was doing, especially since she had ordered him to be keeping an eye on the knights of the Gold Winged Clan. She was about to find out as she made her way over to him.

"I found you." She whispered into the man's ear.

The black winged male jumped up off his chair and a few centimeters away from the table, facing the intruder. He flinched as soon as they made eye contact. "L-L-Lady Asaka!" the man stuttered, fearing what was about to come. "W-W-What a pleasant surprise!"

Asaka crossed her arms across her chest as she raised her eyebrow. "I'd hardly call it a surprise. You knew I was coming here after you alerted me of the knights's whereabouts."

The silver haired man nervously laughed. "Ah, yeah! That's right!"

The navy haired girl was starting to grow suspicious. She could tell that he was hiding something. She was about to bring it up when the man suggested that she sit down and rest after flying all the way to the kingdom of the Green Winged Clan from the kingdom of the Black Winged Clan and he would buy her a drink. Asaka agreed to take him on his offer but that didn't mean it would completely distract her from the question she needed to ask.

"So tell me." she spoke up as soon as she got her drink. "I noticed it as I looked around; the Gold Winged Clan knights aren't here, right? Why are you here when I ordered you to keep an eye on them?"

Upon hearing her question, the man flinched once again. "Uh, yeah, about that…"

Blue eyes narrowed. "Where are they?"

The silver haired male kept trying to change the subject and get her to forget about it, but Asaka was not falling for it. After some time had passed, she was able to persuade him to tell her what happened using fear tactics. Now that he was cooperating, her subordinate began to tell her what happened. He told her that he had been watching the two knights since he found them at the kingdom of the Green Winged Clan until recently. After a few days, he explained that a female gold winged knight then showed up (who Asaka immediately recognized as Captain Misaki) and the next thing that happened was the three getting on a carriage and flying off somewhere.

After hearing everything, Asaka glared at him. "You just let them get away?!" she snarled. "Why didn't you follow them?!"

"I-I-I figured you'd g-g-get angry if you showed up here and I-I wasn't around!" the man cried out.

"You could've followed them and then gave me an update with what was happening, you idiot!" She let out a loud, frustrating sigh. "I had to leave His Majesty's side for this…"

It was then that her subordinate realized something. "Wait! I-I remember! It's not that I didn't plan to follow them! It was that I couldn't! There was another with them!"

She stared at him. "Another gold winged knight?"

"No," the silver haired male replied. "This person had different coloured wings."

"Green wings?"

"Not green wings either. Their wings… they were-!"

XxXxX

The Sea of Clouds was peaceful this day. Not a single cloud was dark and gray. As the carriage flew above the vast white, Naoki and Kamui were unable to keep their eyes off the view, having never been this far away from home. Misaki simply sat there quietly, contemplating the previous events and the sudden visitor that appeared before them, leading to their current situation.

"Why are you here?" Misaki cried out upon seeing the familiar face before her.

Kourin crossed her arms as she gave the other girl an amused smirk. "What, am I not supposed to be here?"

"Th-that's not what I mean." the lilac haired girl stuttered. "It's just that I've never seen you leave the kingdom of the Silver Winged Clan."

"I normally don't." the blonde haired woman frowned. "But I'm here on business. I was sent here by Lord Takuto himself. He wishes to see you three."

The three gold winged knights shared glances with each other as they stood there confused. "What does the ruler of the Silver Winged Clan want with us?" Naoki asked. "And how did you know we were here?"

"In terms of your first question, I don't know." Kourin replied. "As for your second question, Lord Takuto told me I would find you here."

Her answer only produced more questions. How did the ruler of the Silver Winged Clan know where three knights of the Gold Winged Clan were? And why was he looking for them specifically? As much as they wanted to know, they weren't sure if they should leave when they had just found something proving the Red Winged Clan's existence. But was it wise to defy a ruler's wishes, even if it isn't the one they serve? They were at a crossroads.

"Oh, and," Kourin continued, "Lord Takuto brought up something else. He said that if you come, he'll tell you as much as he can about what it is you're searching for, whatever it is."

All eyes on the three knights widened upon hearing that. Did Lord Takuto know they were trying to learn more about the Red Winged Clan? Looking at each other, they were in unanimous agreement to go see the leader of the Silver Winged Clan, see what he wanted from them, and try to learn more about the Red Winged Clan.

And thus it led to present day with the three knights riding the carriage to the kingdom of the Silver Winged Clan. Misaki looked down at the scroll resting on her lap. They had to ask Gouki if they could borrow it, which he allowed as he saw no other use for it. Looking over it again, the captain noticed something about the family tree on the scroll that needed questioning and figured Lord Takuto might know the answer.

"This is gonna be amazing!" Naoki cried in excitement. "I never dreamed that I would ever get to go to the kingdom of the Silver Winged Clan! Heck, I never thought I would ever get to go anywhere outside of the kingdom of the Gold Winged Clan!"

Kamui gave the older male a smack on the head. "We're not here for sightseeing!" he reprimanded the senior knight. "We don't know what the leader of the Silver Winged Clan wants with us." He looked over at Misaki. "Captain, you've been to the kingdom of the Silver Winged Clan a bunch of times with Her Majesty, right? What is this Lord Takuto like?"

Misaki leaned back in her seat as she pondered. "It is true that I have accompanied Her Majesty to the half annual meetings since I became captain and I have met Lord Takuto. However, I wouldn't necessarily say I know him. To be honest, he is a complete mystery. I only know the things about him that everyone else knows."

"We're here." they could hear Kourin call out from the front. All three gold winged knights looked out the windows to see the kingdom of the Silver Winged Clan. As it was their first time here, Naoki and Kamui were in awe with the view before them, despite the latter just saying they weren't at the kingdom to sightsee.

None of the knights knew that things were going to change the moment they leave the carriage and step into the crystal palace.

As soon as they entered through the giant doors, they were greeted by a young girl with reddish brown hair (who Misaki immediately recognized as one of the other girls that serve Takuto alongside Kourin), rushing over to hug the blonde woman.

"Welcome back, Kourin!" the girl exclaimed, excited to her friend return.

Kourin gave the other girl a light pat on the back in response. "Hey, Rekka." she replied. "Is Lord Takuto in the audience chamber?"

The girl, Rekka, pulled away. "Actually, he's in the meeting room. He's currently discussing things with the ruler of the Aqua Winged Clan. I don't know what they're talking about though."

"Can you go and tell him that I've brought the three knights from the Gold Winged Clan like he told me to?"

"Sorry, Kourin." said the younger female. "I was just about to head out to do some shopping at the marketplace. Let me know how it goes!" Before anything else could be said, Rekka skipped out of the door. Kourin let out a loud, exasperated sigh as she massaged her temples.

"She always does this." she muttered to herself. She then remembered that she wasn't alone as the three visitors stood there in confusion. She faced the gold winged knights. "I'm sorry, but I'm gonna go tell Lord Takuto that you are here-!"

"That won't be necessary."

All four of them turned in the direction of the voice. A cyan haired woman stood on the main stairway, flashing a gentle smile at them. Kourin immediately recognized the woman.

"Suiko!" she cried out. "What do you mean by that?"

The older woman, Suiko, simply smiled more. "Lord Takuto is already aware of your presence and is finishing up his meeting with Master Leon of the Aqua Winged Clan. He asked that I tell you to wait for him in the audience chamber and he will join you shortly." As soon as she finished sending the message, she walked back up the stairs. Kourin let out another sigh.

"Well, there we go." she spoke up. "I'll escort you three there." The three gold winged knights followed the blonde haired woman up the opposite stairs the cyan haired woman walked up and walked down the hall until they made it to a set of giant doors. Kourin opened the doors and gestured for the knights to walk in.

The audience chamber in the crystal palace brought the one in the palace back home to shame. The room was gigantic, covered in crystal like the rest of the palace, with crystal pillars standing close to the walls holding the ceiling up. The entire room was decorated with different coloured crystal plants and crystal statues of owls. It felt like they had just entered a different world.

"Please make yourselves comfortable." Kourin suggested as soon as the knights walked inside. "Wish I could stay but I have some more errands I need to do." She then left, closing the door behind her as she left the three alone in the cold, giant, empty room.

The three gold winged knights had no clue how long they waited, but it felt like an eternity. There was nothing they could really do but pace. Both Naoki and Kamui threw out complaints every few minutes but Misaki told them to wait patiently. However, she could understand their frustration for she too was slowly starting to grow impatient. She began to question what Lord Takuto was doing that was taking this long.

After some time had passed, the doors loudly creaked open. The three knights snapped their heads towards the direction of the door to see the silver winged child walk in accompanied by a young man with aqua wings. Misaki immediately recognized them as Lord Takuto and Master Leon. Takuto flashed an apologetic smile as he and Leon walked past the knights. "I apologize for taking so long." he said. "Our discussion took longer than expected."

Both Naoki and Kamui leaned towards their captain while staring at the silver winged male. "That brat is Lord Takuto?" Naoki whispered in Misaki's one ear.

"And here I thought he was some old geezer." Kamui whispered in the captain's other ear.

The lilac haired girl smacked them both in the head. "Both of you!" she hissed at them. "That is Lord Takuto of the Silver Winged Clan you are talking about. Be more respectful."

Luckily for them, Takuto was too busy walking to his throne to hear anything his gold winged guests were saying about him. As soon as he sat down, he looked over at his guests, including Leon who stood beside the throne, cleared his throat to get their attention, and as soon as they were listening to him, he spoke up.

"Thank you for coming." he properly welcomed them. "I assume you wish to know the reason as to why I summoned you, knights of the Gold Winged Clan."

Misaki walked forward and bowed before the ruler of the Silver Winged Clan. "I am Captain Misaki of the Gold Winged Clan. I will confess that we don't understand what it is my knights and I can do for you that your knights cannot do for you."

Takuto frowned. "I will cut to the chase." He took a deep breath. "You and your knights have been searching for proof that the Red Winged Clan exists, am I correct?"

The three knights flinched. So he did know about it? For what reason did he call them then? He said he had info they wanted. Was he willing to pass the info to them nonchalantly? And why was Master Leon still here despite his meeting with Lord Takuto being over? Or maybe it wasn't over and Leon was just waiting until Takuto finished his business with them?

"You three must be confused about everything going on." Takuto continued with a sigh. "First of all, yes, the Red Winged Clan does exist. They were known as the Red Wings of Valor and were the bravest and strongest of all the clans. But then, tragedy struck when something happened to the clan. It was decided with the other clans that the Red Winged Clan be exiled from the Cloudlands, and thus they were sent to Earth."

Naoki stepped forward. "I heard from the black winged king that they created something that led to their exile."

The silver haired male nodded. "Yes, the 'tool'."

"Please, My Lord." Misaki asked. "Could you tell us what the 'tool' and why its existence caused the Red Winged Clan to be exiled."

Takuto frowned. "I don't know too much about it sadly. What I can tell you is that despite the name, the 'tool' is a living entity, able to think and feel like any other living being. What it looks like and the like are completely beyond my knowledge, however. As for what it did to get the Red Winged Clan exiled, I believe you knights should know about that more than I do."

The three gold winged knights looked confused. "What do you mean, My Lord?" Misaki questioned the ruler before her.

The young looking ruler leaned forward from his throne; his expression dark. What he was about to say brought fear to the knights. The moment he told them, everything began to make sense; the puzzle pieces fit and the actions of many thanks to this event became clear.

"The 'tool' attacked and then kidnapped the young Prince Aichi of the Gold Winged Clan when he was still a child."

The entire room was silent. No one suspected this to be the case. The event where Prince Aichi was put in danger and the event that led to the Red Winged Clan's exile were connected. Despite the red wings' exile however, the kingdom of the Gold Winged Clan were determined to make sure Prince Aichi didn't leave without an escort. The entire thing must've been tragic to the royal family.

Takuto continued. He leaned back on his throne and looked up at the crystal ceiling; the sun shining above it creating a beautiful light show above. "And now, I'm trying to lift their exile and return them to the Cloudlands where they belong."

The three gold winged knights stared at the silver winged ruler with shock. "You're trying to get them to return to the Cloudlands even after what they did to Prince Aichi?!" Kamui cried out.

"I know what you three are thinking." Takuto replied. "Why am I considering such a thing after what had happened? But let me explain; you three must have realized how much worse things have gotten recently."

Leon, who had been standing in silence, walked forward and spoke up. "The wind that flows within all of the Cloudlands has become more dark and foul; not only with the monsters of the Void roaming around, but some creatures and even people have been slowly possessed to serve the Void and its wishes. A good chunk of the Cloudlands has now become a breeding ground for the monsters. And all of this began after the Red Winged Clan was exiled."

"But in order to lift their exile," Misaki began, "All of the rulers of the different clans must unanimously agree."

Takuto gestured to Leon. "Master Leon and I recently discussed our agreement. I have also discussed this with Emperor Kenji of the Green Winged Clan."

"My knights and I don't have the power to convince Queen Shizuka if that is what you are thinking."

"I know, Captain. I was not going to wish that of you. And I know she won't be easy to convince. After all, it was her son that got involved in this mess and I'm sure she would not want the clan involved to be brought back regardless of the situation. However, I know how much she wishes for the Cloudlands to be safe from the Void's tyranny, so she may choose for the Red Winged Clan to come back despite her own personal wishes. My biggest problem is with King Ren of the Black Winged Clan."

"Why's that?" Kamui asked.

Naoki remembered back to when he and Aichi encountered Ren back at the castle ruins and what the young prince pointed out. "The king is possessed by the Void, right?"

"That is exactly why." Takuto replied. "With King Ren under the Void's control, we cannot unanimously agree for the Ren Winged Clan's return."

Kamui raised his hand. "Can't you just not include him in the vote?"

"We cannot. Unlike the Red Winged Clan who were exiled from the Cloudlands, the Black Winged Clan is still a part of the system and therefore King Ren's imput is still valid when discussing issues."

"Can't a majority vote work?" Naoki question. "You have three of the five clans agreeing and if you're counting the Red Winged Clan in that, it's four versus two. Their exile would be lifted and everything will be fine, right?"

The silver winged ruler shook his head. "We cannot do that either. Normally, I would agree on you with the majority vote. That was how the Red Winged Clan was deemed exiled in the first place. But with King Ren under the Void's influence, we can't take that chance. You see, I believe he might be waiting for us to act in a way that could start a war between the clans. Any move we make could ignite one, and with the Cloudlands as fragile as it is right now..."

Kamui pondered. "I'm surprised the Red Winged Clan didn't start one themselves."

"The king and queen were killed within the tragedy that led to their exile." Takuto explained. "The Witch of the Red Winged Clan, who was to take over the Red Winged Clan should anything happen to the royal family, accepted full responsibility and allowed her clan to be exiled." The silver haired child was deep in thought. "Thinking about it, she was given a choice between the clan being exiled… or the 'tool' being destroyed, which she was heavily against the latter. Then again, she was the one who created the 'tool' so I assume she grew too attached to it."

"But she was willing to let her clan be exiled for a monster to be kept alive?" Misaki questioned. "Why would she do that? It doesn't make any sense."

"That is what I'm wondering. There are so many mysteries that surround the event of ten years ago. That is the reason why I called you three. You have been searching for the proof that the Red Winged Clan exists. You now know that they exist now. You have two new objectives now; to find information about the 'tool', and to figure out a way to free King Ren from the Void's grasp."

The lilac haired woman stepped forward. "I just have a couple questions first. First of all, why ask for our help when you could send your knights to do the job for you?"

Takuto let out a sigh. "I would do just that… but therein lies another issue. You see, after the Red Winged Clan was exiled, something unusual happened. The remaining five rulers of ten years ago, including myself, were having a meeting to discuss what to do regarding our kingdoms in terms of how to treat the Red Winged Clan's exile. The next thing we knew, with the exception of the five of us and a few people joined with us for the meeting, every winged being in the Cloudlands forgot the Red Winged Clan ever existed. Of course, that number has shortened. The only ones still alive after that moment are myself and Queen Shizuka of the Gold Winged Clan. I doubt that the knights of the Silver Winged Clan would take my orders seriously if I were to send them."

"Yet you were able to-!"

"I didn't need my memories of the Red Winged Clan's existence to know that something was wrong in the Cloudlands." Leon replied. "Lord Takuto simply confirmed my thoughts. I believe Emperor Kenji thinks the same thing."

"There is another reason why I can't ask my knights and why specifically need your help." Takuto continued. "The things I need you to look into… may also involve Prince Aichi. Why did the 'tool' kidnap him? What would it gain from that? That's why if I ask you three to search these things, there wouldn't be any issue in case you would have to investigate your beloved prince."

Both Naoki and Kamui looked over at Misaki. They knew that this decision was not theirs to make, but rather their captain's. The female knight stood there silent, contemplating what would be the best option. What would happen if Queen Shizuka were to find out about it? She was only supposed to fetch her wandering knights and bring them back to the kingdom. Was she willing to go to such lengths. She sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. She ended up going this far. She might as well see it through to the end. Besides, this wasn't just a mission from the ruler of the Silver Winged Clan; it was a mission that might help free the Cloudlands for good.

"Very well, My Lord." she replied. "We'll take on your request. But before we do, I still have my second question." She pulled out the scroll. "My knights came across this while they were searching for proof of the Red Winged Clan's existence." She walked over and handed it to Takuto. "As you can see, it is a family tree of the Red Winged Clan's royal family, and I have examined it myself; it is authentic. However, I came across something while examining it. If you scroll down until you reach the bottom, the last name on the tree is crossed out. Do you know why that is? I mean, I rarely see a name being crossed off of a family tree unless something happened, whether the owner of said name was disowned or..."

As she asked, Takuto looked over the scroll. Once he reached the bottom and saw the crossed out name, he understood. "Do you remember when I said that the Witch of the Red Winged Clan was to take over in case something happened to the royal family? As I said, the king and queen died within the chaos of the 'tool's' actions. However, there was a tragedy much farther back than that. You see, around seventeen years ago, the queen gave birth to an heir; a prince."

"What happened to him?" Misaki asked.

The silver haired male lowered his head. "Not long after he was born... the baby boy passed away. From what I had heard… the poor child was born with a weak heart… he didn't even live for two days. To say that the kingdom was devastated by the young prince's death is an understatement. Both the king and queen were truly heartbroken when I saw them back then."

The three knights lowered their heads. To think that someone would die so young, not having a chance to properly live. How could life be so cruel?

After some silence, Takuto spoke back up. "The first thing I ask for you to do is to search the ruins of the Red Winged Clan's castle. I don't know if there's anything there, but it doesn't hurt to look. I had heard rumors that the Witch of the Red Winged Clan had a secret room where she practiced her spells. Try searching for that."

Led by their captain, the gold winged knights saluted with a "Yes, My Lord" before marching out the door. As soon as they were gone, Takuto leaned back and relaxed. "I hope everything goes well for them for all our sakes."

"I don't blame you, Lord Takuto." Leon spoke up, moving until he stood in front of the throne so they made eye contact. "The wind grows more restless with each day. The Cloudlands cries in agony with every move the Void makes." He lowered his head. "And the worst of it is that among those that have become one of the Void's puppets, it's not just a ruler of one of the clans, but a Psyqualia user as well."

"Yes…" Takuto replied. "The fact that a Psyqualia user is among the Void's puppets… we may be in trouble." He looked back up at the ceiling. "I am thinking back to what the Witch of the Red Winged Clan told me all these years ago. The 'tool'; she said that it would be capable of destroying the Void once and for all."

"Do you believe that?"

"I'm not sure. Only through those knights will we find the truth." He got off his throne and walked out of the audience chamber with Leon following him. As he left the room and closed the door behind them, he said this:

"Is the 'tool'... the tool to our salvation… or the tool to our destruction?"


	27. Chapter 26: Hot and Cold

"You have got to be kidding me! You both are driving me crazy!"

It was the day after they returned from their trip and the first day of rehearsal already had a rough start. Kai and Aichi came in both wearing surgical masks. Apparently neither of them considered that all the times they spent in the ocean during some cold nights, whether intentionally or unintentionally, wearing nothing but wet underwear for most of it would make it easy for them to get badly sick.

As soon as they showed up and explained the situation, Tsukiko began chewing them out on it, and the two male's could only just stand there as they got scolded. Aichi meekly stared down at the ground, feeling really bad about the situation. Kai on the other hand didn't care about being scolded. He didn't think it was necessary to scold someone when something was already done. He just wanted to get rehearsal over and done with so he could go home and relax.

But Tsukiko just kept going. "We don't have much time left until we have to perform! I appreciate you both coming in despite not feeling very well. However, I'm going to constantly worry about your health knowing you both are sick!"

Kai huffed as he crossed his arms. "You said so yourself, right? We don't have much time left, so we should spend it trying to work as hard as we can. And we're here to work so what's the problem?!"

"The problem is that I'm worried about what would happen if you overexert yourself!" Tsukiko shouted. "If you push yourself too much while we rehearse, you could collapse! Is that so hard to understand?!"

Please, calm down!" Aichi cried out as he stood in front of the two. He faced Tsukiko. "All we need to do is not overexert ourselves, right? Then we'll work on scenes that don't push ourselves too much. That way, we get some work done and Kai and I won't make ourselves worse."

The blonde woman pondered the younger male's words. "I suppose that would suffice. But as soon as you both are feeling better, we're practicing those other scenes. Got it?"

Aichi nodded before linking his arm with Kai's dragging him off to a corner where they could talk in private. The blue haired male looked up at his beloved. Kai's eyes were red and swollen and he kept sniffling. Aichi knew he probably looked the same but there was something Kai had that the former didn't have. Aichi let out a sneeze before he asked his lover: "How are you holding up?"

The brunet looked down at the other male; his eyes watering. "It's getting hard to hold back a sneeze."

He didn't need to say anymore, for Aichi understood what he meant. He gave him a reassuring smile as he rubbed the taller male's upper arm. "Go. I'll cover for you." Kai didn't need to be told twice. He didn't hesitate as he ran as fast as he could out of the theatre room and into the washroom. Tsukiko saw the brunet run out and walked over to the blue haired boy.

"Where is Toshiki going?" she asked him.

Aichi flashed a nervous smile. "He just needs to blow his nose. He'll be back soon."

"You're not going with him?"

"Oh no. I'm fine! In fact, I'm ready to go anytime!"

The older woman nodded as she understood, however only she knew the real reason why. She knew what happens Kai gets sick. She wasn't going to question anything and instead pretend to be oblivious. Admittedly, this was part of why she was worried about him and Aichi partaking in rehearsal. However, she knew she couldn't afford to worry about it. Her job was on the line here and Aichi did make a point. So long as they don't push themselves too much, it should be fine.

It didn't take long for Kai to come back. As soon as he did, they proceeded with rehearsal. Since they were to not push themselves, they only practiced the scenes where there was primarily talking, so that meant they didn't practice the dance scene (which they practiced enough of already) or the fight scene. However, they couldn't practice any of the songs either as Tsukiko didn't want the boys to strain their voices. This only left them some of the scenes in between. Luckily, they were scenes that took time to go through and there were plenty of them.

As they practiced, Aichi had sneezed a few times and Kai had to cough every once in a while, but it didn't cause that much trouble. However, despite the trip being the reason they got sick in the first place, it did provide one positive. The two males were now a little bit closer and because their relationship grew into a romantic one, it made their acting more authentic. They weren't two people pretending to be lovers; their eye contact, their gestures, the way they touch each other, they were genuine lovers.

Hours had passed, and they went through rehearsal without a hitch. Every hour, Kai had to run out of the room to let out a sneeze, but he was fine aside from that. Eventually, rehearsal had concluded, and before the two boys left, Tsukiko told them to get plenty of rest before dismissing them.

As soon as they made it back to the apartment, they both took off their masks and crashed on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Not long after his back hit the bed, Kai let out one of the biggest sneezes he had ever let out; a long stream of flames flying upward. Luckily, it didn't reach the ceiling.

Aichi let out a giggle as he snuggled against the older male. "That was quite the sneeze."

"I would honestly prefer not having those kind of sneezes." Kai replied.

The blue haired boy traced a circle on the other male's chest with his finger. "I think it's a little cute."

Teal eyes stared down at the smaller male as Kai raised an eyebrow from that statement. "You find destructive sneezes like that cute?"

A blush crawled onto Aichi's cheeks. "Well, maybe not the destructive part, but, well, you know…"

Kai adjusted himself so he was hovering above the younger male; a mischievous smirk planted on his face. "'I know…' what?"

Aichi tried to avert his gaze as his face grew redder. "Well, I mean… you're usually so cool and… well, it's just the one instance where… you know, you're…"

A big slender hand tilted Aichi's chin so he looked straight, staring into amused teal eyes. "So, you find me cute when I sneeze?"

"Wh-What?! No, I mean yes, but… Ahaha, I mean, I just…"

Kai let out a chuckle. He could now see the fun in teasing someone, especially if it was with someone he liked. Aichi mentioned how he thought Kai was cute when he sneezed, but it was clear the cuter one here was the blue haired boy. He caressed the blue haired boy's cheek, brushing stray hairs away. He leaned forward; his lips hovering over the younger boy's, moving closer and closer until…

Aichi let out a sneeze of his own.

The brunet pulled away quickly after getting his face sneezed on. Aichi began to panic. He scurried over to the bedside table to grab some tissues. He grabbed a few and began rubbing any spit off the older male's face.

"I'm so, so, so sorry, Kai!" the winged male cried. "I didn't mean to…"

Kai simply smiled under the tissues. "It's fine." he responded. "Better you than m-!" Before he could finish his sentence, he could feel another sneeze coming. Aichi moved away from the older male as quickly as he could. Kai tried to take the tissue off his face before he could sneeze, but he couldn't hold out much longer and so, tissue in hand in front of his face, he sneezed again; another stream of flames flowing out. His sneeze caught the tissue on fire. The brunet ran rapidly to the kitchen and turned the tap on the sink on before dropping the burning tissue into the water, putting it out. Both males let out a sigh of relief before facing each other. The relief quickly turned into laughter.

"I think we should try to avoid kissing until we're feeling better." Kai suggested as he snickered.

"That might be best." Aichi replied with a chuckle of his own.

With that settled, the older male grabbed his phone and looked at the clock. It was already around dinnertime. Aichi looked over Kai's shoulder to see the time for himself. He smiled. "Why don't you lie down and relax?" said Aichi. "I can make dinner for us."

But before he could walk over to the kitchen, Kai wrapped an arm around the blue haired boy's waist and lied down on the bed, pulling the latter so the smaller of the two was lying on top. "You are not going anywhere near the kitchen."

The winged male looked back at the bigger male in confusion. "Why not?" he asked. "I've gotten better at cooking. You said so yourself."

Kai had to admit that Aichi had gotten a lot better than what he was like before. Back when he first started, the young prince couldn't cook anything without it getting burnt. But now, although it wasn't at gourmet level like Kai, the younger male was able to make decent, edible dishes. The brunet shook his head. "That's not the issue." said Kai. "I'm not the only one here that's sick."

"But one of us has to cook if we want dinner. We're too sick to go and eat out."

"Who said those were our only options?" Kai raised his phone in Aichi's line of sight. "We can just order some pizza."

Cerulean eyes widened. "We can do that?! Earth is filled with so many surprises."

The older male chuckled. He could never get over how precious the boy in his arms was. He let go so they could stand back up. "I'll order the pizza. You go have a bath."

Aichi gave a nod before heading to the bathroom. Kai dialled the number and ordered the pizza. Once that was set, he went through his wallet and put the money needed on the desk. He then got the table set up, setting the plates and getting glasses ready. As soon as he was done, he turned on the TV and began watching whatever came on first. Much to his awkwardness, it was a romance movie. After a couple of minutes, he was about to change the channel until the current scene went into a direction that caught his attention.

The two leads were having a moment until the male lead tells his lover that he has to leave her as he had to move abroad for work. The female lead begs for him to stay but it's in vain. When she realizes that she can't make him stay, she then begs for him to take her with him. Kai's heart ached watching that scene. How like the girl did he want to stay by Aichi's side no matter what. Realizing where his mind was going, he shook his head, trying to get the thoughts out of his head before changing the channel to something less depressing.

He had moved on to watching an action anime when Aichi finally came out from his bath. Kai was unable to take his eyes off the boy; the way his clothes stuck to wet, flushed skin, how he seemed to glisten with the water droplets sticking on him, how he let out a relaxed, content sigh that was music to the brunet's ears as he walked over to the bed. The blue haired boy noticed the real eyes staring at him and felt a little awkward. He had never seen anyone look at him with so much desire before. He had never even been aware of anyone gazing at him that way before. However, despite his embarrassment, he also felt very cherished.

"The bath is ready for you." the younger male spoke up.

"Alright." Kai replied as he got up and began walking towards the bathroom. "If the pizza gets here before I'm out, the money for it is on the desk." As soon as Aichi assured him that he understood, Kai closed the door behind him, preparing to have his bath. Aichi turned off the TV and grabbed the fairy tale book from the shelf, wanting to read more after being away from it for a few days.

Half an hour had passed when he heard a knock on the door. It had to be the pizza. He got up, grabbed the money from the desk, and then paid for and retrieved the pizza. He set the box down on the floor beside the table before walking to the bathroom door and giving it a light knock.

"Pizza's here!" he called out.

"I'm coming out!" Kai replied from the other side.

From inside the bathroom, Kai began to get out of the tub, dry himself off, and then get dressed. Once he was ready, he came out of the bathroom to seeing Aichi waiting for him. The blue haired boy noticed the older male come out and let out an amused smile before walking up to him. He took the towel that was hanging on Kai's shoulders and began rubbing the latter's head with it as he tried to dry the remaining wet brown locks.

"You came out without properly drying your hair first?" he asked. "You'd make your cold worse doing that."

Kai chuckled. "Says the guy who doesn't wash his hair properly."

Aichi pouted. "You make it sound like I have disgusting hair."

"On the contrary." The brunet ran his hand through the smaller male's soft blue hair. "I'm surprised it looks this nice despite that."

It was the winged male's turn to giggle. "I guess I'm just lucky to have nice hair?"

"Bragging now, are we?"

"I'm not trying to."

Another chuckle came out. Kai could not get over how much the younger male made him smile. He had to wonder just what kind of karma he had built up to have someone so wonderful like Aichi come into his life. He couldn't contain his happiness.

But he realized that wasn't the only thing he couldn't contain.

He could feel another sneeze coming out. The problem was with how close Aichi was to him. If he let it out now, the blue haired boy was going to get his face burned. But there was no way he could warn him in time. That only left him one last option. He pushed the smaller male as hard as he could away from him before he let the sneeze out. Luckily, Aichi managed to land on the bed so he didn't get hurt. Nonetheless, he was confused with Kai's actions.

After he recovered from his sneeze, the first thing Kai did was apologize for suddenly pushing the winged male and explained what happened. However, he was caught off guard as he noticed cerulean hues widening in fear. The brunet worried. He didn't scare him that badly doing that, did he?

"I'm really sorry, Aichi!" he said. "I didn't have time to warn you before letting it out! I didn't want to hurt you just because I breathe fire when I sneeze!"

But it was clear that the blue haired male was not paying attention to the older male. Instead, he appeared to be fixated on staring at Kai, or more accurately, something that was on Kai. Aichi's fear grew to sheer panic as he rushed over to Kai, tugged him into the bathroom, grabbed the shower head, and suddenly sprayed him with water. Kai grew annoyed. He had just dried himself off after having a bath and Aichi suddenly sprays him with water and gets him all wet again. And while he had his clothes on too.

"What's the big idea?!" Kai shouted. "I get that I must've freaked you out pushing you like that, but you didn't have to pull me in here and spray me with water!"

Aichi just stood there in shock, still spraying the brunet with water. "...Why isn't it going out?"

It was Kai's turn to get confused. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

For the first time since it all started, cerulean eyes made contact with teal. "Can you not feel it?! Your arm…"

The brunet's confusion grew from that. Feel what from his arm? He looked down to see what the other male was talking about. When he saw what it was, teal eyes widened with pure terror. Suddenly, everything made sense, and yet at the same time it didn't. How was it possible? As if there wasn't enough about him that didn't scare him, this made it much worse.

His entire forearm and hand was covered in crimson flames and were still growing strong even with water being sprayed on it.

He let out a scream upon realization. He must've accidentally sneezed on his own arm when he pushed Aichi away. But why wasn't it going out despite being hit with water? And why didn't he realize his arm was burning until Aichi pointed it out? Even as he noticed the flames, he could now feel the heat radiating from it, but he didn't feel any pain from it, especially as it burned directly on his skin. What the hell was wrong with him?

"Why?!" he cried out. "Why isn't it going out?! It should be going out!"

As if he spoke the magic words, the flames suddenly disappeared upon speaking up. What was going on? Did the water finally put the flames out? There was no time to dwell on it as Aichi dropped the shower head and rushed over to the taller male's side.

"Don't worry, Kai!" he spoke up as he lifted up the brunet's arm. "I'll heal your wounds quick-!"

But upon examining the older male's arm, they both noticed something very peculiar, and it did not help ease Kai's anxiety at all. The sleeve of Kai's shirt was burnt right off; the point where the flames ended leaving a black scorch mark near the ends. However, Kai's skin appeared to be perfectly fine. From every angle, they couldn't find even a single scar. It was as if the flames never touched his skin.

"Why…?" Kai whispered, trembling as he wrapped his arms around him. "What…? Just… what am I…?"

Aichi stared at the older male. He could tell the latter was pretty shaken up from the ordeal. He reached out to touch him. "Kai…"

"Don't touch me!" Kai yelled, slapping the blue haired male's hand away. Both males stood frozen from the sudden action. The taller male held his hand close to him and rushed over to the other side of the bathroom. "I'd like to be alone…"

"But Kai…!"

"Just leave me alone!"

The winged male wasn't sure if he should leave the brunet alone with him acting like this, but he was not sure what he could do to help him. He left the bathroom in defeat, ashamed that he couldn't do more to help.

He noticed the pizza just sitting there getting cold. He knew that he couldn't at least get Kai some food. He grabbed a couple of slices, put them on a plate, and brought it over to the bathroom door. He gave it a light knock.

"Kai?" Aichi called out. "I brought you some pizza." There was no response. "I'll leave it in front of the door, okay?" Still silent. Aichi placed the plate down and walked away. He then sat down, grabbed a couple slices for himself, and proceeded to eat.

An hour had passed since then. After he finished eating, Aichi went back to reading the fairy tale book on the bed. Or at least that was what he was attempting to do. However, his worry for Kai occupied his mind. He was still in the bathroom doing who knows what. He didn't even touch his food. It got the winged male thinking; did Kai feel like this the day they first met? Aichi could still remember how frightened and confused he was, unsure of where he was and what was happening.

He began to wonder if Kai was going through a similar experience. The brunet was terrified of the things that were happening to him; things that made it hard to question who he really was. Aichi wished there was something he could do to help his beloved. He tried to think. What did Kai do when Aichi was scared upon first coming to Earth? He remembered the older male didn't try to use force to calm him down. He simply left him alone, leaving him food and a drink to show his kindness. Aichi remembered that he was able to calm down after that and had always been grateful to that first day to help him get his bearings straight.

But that had been what he had been doing this past hour. He gave Kai his space and left food for him. The brunet didn't show any signs of coming out. He didn't know what to do. Who knew what would happen if this continued. He tried to go back to his book, but it was no use. He couldn't stop thinking about Kai.

A thought then occurred to him. There was something he could do, though he wasn't completely sure if it would work. Nevertheless, he had to try. He needed to show Kai that he was not alone on this; that he could rely on him for anything. He wasn't just doing this for the older male, but for himself as well.

He turned the pages of the fairy tale book until he found what he was looking for; a particular story that grew to become the blue haired male's favorite. Something about this story struck a chord with him, and he felt like it was a story Kai would also appreciate.

Beauty and the Beast.

Aichi began to read aloud, projecting his voice so as Kai could hear it from within the bathroom. The story was as followed; a beautiful young girl agrees to offer her life to a hideous beast after her father stayed at the beast's castle for the night and tried to take one of the roses home as a present for her, angering said owner. The beast assures her that he would not kill her but instead, be her devoted servant until the day she may look past his ugliness and become his bride. As the days passed, the beast kept his word and treated the girl with nothing but kindness and the girl slowly fell in love with him, though hesitated to see him as nothing more than a friend. And though she was happy being with him, she missed her family and wished to see them again, even if it was for one last time. The beast agrees to let her go, but makes her promise that she must return within one week no matter what. He gave her a magic ring to transport her to her family's home and back whenever she wishes and a magic mirror to see what's going on back at the beast's castle should she miss him. She returns to her family and they were overjoyed upon having her return. However, her two cruel and vain sisters, jealous of the girl's happiness, pretend to miss her and beg her to stay for one more day. The girl agrees, but feels guilty of breaking her promise. When she looks through the mirror to see what's happened, she is horrified to see the beast was dying, calling for her. She returns back to the castle and rushes to the beast's side, where she learned that breaking her promise had caused this. She begs the beast not to die and declares her love for him. Her love not only saves him, but transforms him into a handsome prince. The beast, now a prince, tells the girl how an evil enchantress put a curse on him and how only a declaration of true love from the girl he loved would break the spell. The girl becomes his bride and they live happily ever after.

After he had finished reading, Aichi looked up at the ceiling. "You know," he mused aloud, "The girl never knew that the beast was actually a cursed prince. So it makes me wonder; what if he was never a prince? What if he had always been a beast? The fact that the girl fell in love with him not by his appearance, but by his kind heart… it makes me believe the two would've lived happily ever after either way." He giggled. "I can relate to the girl. The man I love could be a hideous, horrifying looking creature and I would still love him for his kind heart and his courageous actions."

After a minute of silence, the bathroom door creaked open, and Aichi was surprised to see the appearance of the person who came out. He didn't know what happened to have caused this, but Kai ended up looking less human. The brunet was staring at the prince with timid golden lizard eyes. His hands, leaning against the wall, had long nails like claws. Small fangs were sticking out of his mouth and out from under his hair, his ears had grown long and pointy, looking like elf ears, which were drooped down, matching his sorrowful expression. It didn't take long for Aichi to take in the situation and greet the brunet with a comforting smile before tapping a spot on the bed next to him. Kai slowly walked over, a little hesitant to get too close as he was afraid that he could accidentally hurt the younger male. When it seemed like the golden eyed creature was too afraid to walk closer, Aichi got up and closed the remaining distance.

So as not to scare him away, Aichi moved slowly, and carefully overlapped his hands with the other male's. Kai was about to speak, but the blue haired male placed a finger on his lips, shushing him. Cerulean eyes lovingly gazed at him, telling him that they both needn't say a word; as if assuring him that the only communication the two needed was through body language; by their eyes, their touch. Aichi didn't care about whatever form of transformation the taller male was going through, just that he loved him and would stay at his side no matter what.

This sweet moment was then ruined by Kai's stomach growling. Aichi let a sweet, melodious giggle as he walked over to where the plate with pizza was and then put it in the microwave to heat it up. Once it was done, he put the plate on the table, ready for Kai to eat. It was then they both realized that it wasn't just his appearance that was changing. While he never ate in the most defined manner, he was by no accounts a slob, but he ended up tearing and devouring that pizza like a vicious animal eating its food. Upon finishing his dinner, he realized how he acted and appeared rather embarrassed. Aichi didn't mind it though. He was just relieved that the brunet was eating something.

As Kai was finishing up, Aichi walked over to the closet and pulled out a spare shirt for the older male as he scorched one of the sleeves of the one he was wearing. Kai got up and took the shirt. "I can dress myself." Aichi simply nodded and headed back to the bed. The brunet changed shirts and threw the burnt one in the trash before joining the winged male, who went back to reading. Without trying to disturb him, Kai slid in and rested his head on Aichi's lap. This did not go unnoticed however, for as soon as he saw what was going on, he rested his hand down and began running his fingers through silky brown locks. There was something about the way Aichi stroked his head that felt very relaxing. Looking up, he saw that Aichi returned to reading, holding the book with one hand while petting Kai's head with the other. He had an idea.

"Aichi…?" he spoke up, "Could you…?" He couldn't say it. It felt embarrassing to ask. He didn't know how he could be embarrassed asking something but he wouldn't be embarrassed doing something like resting his head on his beloved's lap.

The blue haired boy gazed at the older male. "What is it?"

Kai's face turned red as he tried to avoid eye contact. "Could you… read another story aloud?"

To say that Aichi was surprised was an understatement. It wasn't the first time Kai had asked him to read aloud but it was the first time he was ever direct about it. He smiled. "Any story in particular you want me to read?"

He handed Kai the book as the latter sat up. The brunet flipped through the pages, trying to be careful not to rip them with his claws. He searched until he found the story he wanted near the end of the book and handed it back to Aichi before resting his head on the younger male's lap once again. Aichi examined the title of the story. He had not reached this particular story yet so he was curious as to why Kai wanted him to read it. Nevertheless, he cleared his throat and began to read.

The story that Kai wanted him to read was The Ugly Duckling; the story about a little duckling that didn't fit in because of its ugliness. It searched for a place where it could belong until it grew up. It was then that he learned that he was not an ugly duckling after all, but rather a beautiful swan, and with that revelation, he had finally found a place where he belonged with the other swans. The story tugged at Aichi's heartstrings. Did Kai ask him to read that story because that was what he wanted himself; a place where he felt like he belonged? He pulled Kai's head off his lap and held him close to him.

"Kai…" he spoke softly. "You… You're never alone. I mean it. I… I'll always be with you. I hope… that helps, even if it's a little-!" He let out a sneeze. "Even if it's a little bit… ahaha."

The brunet lifted his head up, making eye contact with the winged prince, who was a little embarrassed sneezing in the middle of his heartwarming speech. "I know." He blushed. "...Thank you."

Aichi smiled. "Anytime."

With that said and done, Kai looked down at his hand. "I just don't get what's happening to me. Although I appreciate you caring for me no matter what I look like, I can't really go out looking like this. I need to find a way to look human again no matter what."

Like with the flames, the moment he spoke out his thoughts, he transformed back into a human. This time however, he didn't panic. He was still confused though. How could this all happen?

The two boys decided to spend the remainder of their evening watching TV, cuddling with each other. Aichi's mind wandered as he thought about the previous events. There were many sides to the brunet that he would've never believed existed back when they first met. Even now, the fact that Kai liked to cuddle was something he wouldn't have guessed from his usually aloof nature. Aichi couldn't help but find the older male strangely adorable, like some kind of giant puppy.

The thought sparked something within Aichi's mind. He didn't know how, but the image of Kai acting like a giant puppy made him remember something as a child. He couldn't remember the details, but there was someone that acted just like Kai did recently. He even remembered a nickname he called him. As to why he called them that was a blur, but he remembered that was what he called them.

"My big, scaly puppy dog…"

"What was that?" Kai asked, hearing Aichi muttering to himself.

The blue haired boy looked up at his lover. "Ah, nothing! It was just something random! I might actually be getting tired."

Kai nodded. "It is getting late… We should probably get some sleep."

With them both in agreement, they turned off the TV, got into their pajamas, and headed to bed. It didn't take long for Kai to fall asleep, Aichi was still deep in thought as he snuggled against the brunet, resting his head on his chest. He knew Kai had to be confused with everything going on. It was possible that if it continued, it would get in the way of everything else, like the play. Though he himself didn't mind all of Kai's non-human quirks, he knew everyone else might not be as forgiving.

And he knew Kai himself would feel insecure about it.

It was then that Aichi made a vow to himself; he was going to help Kai figure out how to control his animalistic urges. He was sure the older male would appreciate having to learn more about himself as well as learn how to control it. He ran many ideas through his mind, coming out with different ways he could do just that until he grew too tired to think and fell asleep, dreaming of the smile Kai would give him for aiding him on his journey of self discovery.


	28. Chapter 27: The Experiments

It didn't take long for Aichi and Kai to recover from being sick. They had mostly recovered the very next day, sneezing every once in a while. However, Tsukiko was adamant on making sure the two males didn't overexert themselves while they were still recovering. Despite that though, they were able to get a lot more done than they did the previous day. Tsukiko figured with the way things were going, even if they haven't always gone smoothly, they should be well prepared to perform on the 27th.

As soon as rehearsal was done, Aichi immediately made his way to Kai, requesting they go pick up some stuff on their way home. Kai was puzzled as to what the blue haired boy could possibly want that they didn't already have at hand, but Aichi seemed determined to get them no matter what. Eventually, Kai gave in and they went to the nearby store on their way home.

If he wasn't confused already before they got to the store, Kai was most certainly after Aichi picked up everything he wanted to get. The brunet saw the items the younger male chose (he was the one that was going to pay for them) but he had no idea what Aichi wanted with all of them. They went straight home with everything they bought, and as soon as they were inside and they had taken their shoes off, Kai finally asked what it was the winged male was planning.

Aichi smiled at the taller male as he pulled out one of the items; a small candle. He then walked over to the kitchen and took out one of the pots before filling it with water. With everything in hand, he placed the pot onto the ground, sat down, and gestured for Kai to sit across from him. Kai had no idea what was going on, but he did what was asked of him anyway, figuring the blue haired male would finally explain himself if he did.

He lifted the candle up so it was in Kai's line of sight. “Kai, if you don't mind, I would like you to blow on this candle.”

The brunet just stared at the candle. He had no idea why he was being asked to blow a candle without any flame but he just shrugged it off and blew. When he looked back up, Aichi let out a chuckle as he shook his head.

“I meant for you to light this candle with your fire breath.” The blue haired boy explained.

Kai raised an eyebrow. “What is this all about? Why buy a candle and ask me to light it when you can light it by other means?”

“Please, Kai.” Aichi asked. “I promise I will explain after. I need you to trust me on this.”

There was only silence. After a minute, the older male let out a loud, drawn out sigh as he took the candle from the other male's hand and let out a small breath, a tiny flame flowing out and lighting the candle. He then handed it back to Aichi carefully.

“Thank you.” said Aichi. “Now close your eyes.”

The older male didn't question anything and just closed his eyes. If Aichi wanted him to trust him then that was what he would do. He only wished he knew what was going on. It didn't take long before he heard the other male's voice called back to him.

“Okay, you can open your eyes now.”

Kai did just that. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the blue haired male staring down at something, muttering; “It's just as I thought.” Kai looked down to where Aichi's line of sight was only to be caught off guard with what he saw in front of him.

The candle that Kai lit up with his own flame had submerged in the pot filled with water, and the most shocking of it all was how the flame was still burning strongly underwater. How was it able to do that?

“The flames you create are not like any other flame.” Aichi spoke up. “It seemed like it was when you dropped the burning tissue into the water in the sink yesterday, but then everything with the flames on your arm happened. And with this, I think I know what it is. Kai, your flames won't go out with water as long as you don't want them to.”

“But that doesn't make any sense.” Kai responded. “Fire that can go out whenever I wish it? Water can't put it out? How is that possible?”

The younger male shook his head. “I don't know. But this experiment has shown that appears to be the case.”

“I know.” The brunet ran his fingers through his hair as he stared at the candle. “It's just hard to believe.” He looked back up at the other male. “What led you to want to do this?”

Aichi averted his gaze as he fiddled with his fingers. “Well… I wanted to help you learn more about yourself. Was it bad for me to do so?”

“No! Not at all!” Kai exclaimed; a little flustered. He had no idea how to respond to these affectionate gestures the winged male had done for him. Never before had he truly felt loved; not even Miwa and Tsukiko with all the kindness they showered on him could ever get this close. He was unable to contain the smile that grew on his face. “You could've told me though…”

Cerulean eyes looked up. “I didn't think it would work as effectively if I did.” He scratched his head. “Though… I guess it would've been better if you had known beforehand… Sorry…”

Kai chuckled. “It's fine.” He brought his hand on top of Aichi's and ruffled the blue locks, giving the latter a gentle, loving smile. “Thank you… for caring for me.”

It was Aichi's turn to get flustered; his cheeks a bright crimson. “O-Of course! I-I mean… I love you, Kai… A-And I want to do anything… that'll make you happy, you know?”

“I know.” Kai lowered his hand so it was now caressing the blue haired male's cheek. “I'd do the same for you.” He moved around the pot so he was sitting beside the smaller male and pulled him into an embrace, gently pressing a kiss on his lips. Aichi reciprocated the kiss, pulling the older male closer so there was barely any distance. They continued their loving gesture until Aichi remembered something and pulled away.

“I think before we forget…” He looked over to the candle in the pot. “We should do something about that flame first.”

Not long after he said that, the flame went out. Aichi's worry turned into curiosity. He looked back at Kai, who didn't appear to be shocked. So it didn't have to be a verbal want. Who knew what else the brunet was capable of?

“So now what?” Kai spoke up.

“What do you mean?” Aichi asked.

“I paid for them so I know all the stuff you got. Are they all to test what I can do?”

The blue haired boy looked at the bag he put on the bed before looking back at the boy holding him. “Well… some of them are. Others are for…”

“For…?”

“... Precautionary measures. N-Not that I will need to use them! It's… just in case…”

Kai could tell the younger male was trying not to offend him. However, he couldn't blame him for considering it. The last time Kai went out of control, he bit Aichi and left some strange mark. Who knew what would happen if he lost control again? He couldn't deny that he was scared of the possibility. As much as he was happy to be by Aichi's side again, he was terrified of the prospect that he could hurt him again, and he was worried that next time the young prince would not want anything to do with him anymore.

“If… you're uncomfortable with it,” Aichi continued, “We don't have to. I just thought… maybe…”

Suddenly, he felt larger hands take his own into them. Aichi was caught off guard from the sudden action and the determined teal eyes that gazed at him. But the most surprising was the thing Kai said once he got the winged male's attention.

“Let's do it.”

Cerulean eyes widened. “Are you sure?”

Kai nodded. “I need to know what it is that I can do. Maybe by doing this, I can have better control of myself; learn more about what it is I truly am. I don't want to hurt anyone anymore.”

Aichi tightened his grip on the older male's hands as his expression mirrored Kai's. “Alright. Let's do it!”

And so, they were both mutually in agreement. Kai smiled. “So what's next on the agenda?”

The blue haired male let go of the other male's hands and lifted on of his own up, pointing to his index finger. “It's gonna sound crazy, but I want you to breathe fire on your finger.”

Teal eyes widened as the taller male pulled away. “Wait, what?!”

“When you accidentally sneezed on your arm, you didn't notice the flames until I pointed them out.” the prince explained. “I want to see how it’s possible.”

He had a point. They had no idea how Kai couldn't feel his arm burning. Was it similar to how his flames wouldn't go out from water? They needed to look into everything they could; explore every aspect of Kai's powers and abilities to learn more about who he was and how he was capable of such things. The brunet took a deep breath before softly blowing on his finger, not wanting the flames to flow too far and accidentally hit something it shouldn't. Even if he could put it out just by willing it, he wished to avoid any unnecessary damage as little as it may be.

His finger was lit with a crimson flame that burned brightly against his pale skin. Both males stared at it, mesmerized with the sight. After a small bit of time had passed, Aichi was the first to snap out of his stupor and cleared his throat, getting Kai's attention. “So how does it feel? Any pain or discomfort?”

The older male shook his head. “Nothing like that. I can feel a bit of heat but aside from that, I don't feel anything.”

Aichi leaned closer to examine the flame. He could feel the heat himself; so tender and comforting. He wouldn't mind sleeping beside such a warmth. A thought then occurred to him; could the flame be touched by anyone beside Kai? He brought his finger up and moved it closer until it touched the flame. Upon contact, the blue haired male let out a loud yelp as he burned his fingertip. Alarmed, Kai let out the flame and closed the distance with his lover.

“Are you alright?!” he asked out of concern.

The winged male looked up at the other male, a reassuring smile on his face as he brought the burnt finger up to his other hand and began using his healing magic. “I'm fine.” he replied, his voice a little shaken up. “It's just a slight burn. But now we know that aside from some details, it burns like any other flame.” It didn't take long for the burn to be fully healed. Aichi brought his finger up and showed Kai that everything was okay. Not long after, Aichi's smile faded as he realized something. “That would mean that you yourself are immune to fire. But if that's the case… then something doesn't add up.”

Kai didn't need to be told what it was. As soon as his possible immunity was brought up, he realized it himself. He took off his shirt, exposing his burns and examined them. “If I’m truly immune to fire, I shouldn't have these burns.”

Aichi nodded. “And I don't think it's possible to develop an immunity to fire, or at least I've never heard of something like that happening.”

“So then why?” Kai looked down at his hands. “Why do I have these burns? Where did they come from?”

The younger male looked down at the ground. “I don't know… I'm sorry…”

He felt a hand tilted his head up as he made eye contact with the brunet. Kai smiled at the smaller male. “Well, that's what we're trying to figure out, right? Every mystery that surrounds me…”

“Yeah, but even so-!”

“We can take our time.” With his other hand, Kai took the smaller hand into his once again, rubbing the back with his thumb. “Even if the answer isn't clear now, it will eventually. Until then, we should focus on what we can figure out.”

Aichi smiled back. If Kai wasn't that worried about the burns, then he shouldn't be too. He was right; they needed to focus on the stuff they can about Kai's abilities. Cerulean eyes drifted onto the half burnt chest in front of him. His free hand roamed up Kai's stomach and ran across the broad chest. There was something about it that drew Aichi in; how it looked nice even with the burns marked on it, how good it felt to touch, the way he could feel the heat radiating off of it, especially around where his heart was. Thinking about it, it felt like he was resting his hand against a flame not unlike the flames Kai was able to produce.

“Something you like?”

The blue haired male snapped out of his thoughts as he looked back up at the older male. The latter had an amused smirk on his face. Aichi's cheeks turned red. He tried to give an excuse but no words would come out. He was embarrassed that he was caught. He couldn't help it though. He was drawn to Kai's chest. There was something about it that made him feel safe and secure whenever he rested against it. Even if he tried, he wouldn't be able to describe this euphoric feeling.

Kai chuckled. He was sure his past self would never believe him if he told him that there would be someone in his life that brought him such bliss. He then moved his hand that was on Aichi's chin off and ran it up and down the prince's cheek as he caressed it. As his hand moved downward, he accidentally went down too much and it landed on the side of his neck. Aichi jumped from the sudden contact and, with a panicked yelp, he slapped the bigger hand away. Kai was caught off guard from the sudden action but was able to recollect himself just as quick.

“Sorry…” Kai responded.

Aichi gasped in realization. “Oh, no! You didn't do anything wrong! I shouldn't have slapped your hand away like that…”

“But you wouldn't be this way if not for me…” The older male looked down on the ground. “If I have learned to control myself sooner…”

Before he could say anymore, Aichi wrapped his arms around him tightly. “It's fine, Kai. What's done is done…”

Kai sighed as he rested one of his hands on the smaller male's back. The two of them just seemed to love playing the ‘It's my fault’ game. It had just become a habit to them at this point. That didn't mean Kai could stop feeling the way he did though.

Just as he was thinking that, Aichi lifted his head so they made eye contact with each other once again. Cerulean eyes stared meekly up at the older male, filling the latter with so much emotion. He could not get over how precious the younger male was.

‘He's mine…’ A voice within Kai spoke. ‘I'll never let him go…’

Before Kai could wonder where the voice came from and why it was saying such things, a familiar smell came back to him. With each whiff, he could feel his thoughts fading away. It became harder to think, and it terrified him.

Aichi stared in worry as he saw teal eyes slowly turn into the gold eyes he feared. “Kai!” he cried out. “Please snap out of it!”

But his pleadings fell on deaf ears. The moment gold eyes focused on the winged male, he pinned him down on the ground. Kai was gone and a wild animal had taken his place. And like a wild animal, it looked at him with hungry eyes, ready to devour him.

“Kai, please!”

Once again, it didn't work. It was then that Aichi remembered the last time Kai got like this and how he managed to snap out of it. The blue haired male raised his hand between them and let out a flash of light, blinding the creature. Like the last time, monstrous roars let out as the demon was blinded, and changed to gasps, showing that he had returned to normal.

“What's going on?!” Kai cried out; his head turning back and forth frantically as he tried to regain his sight.

Aichi let out a sigh of relief. “You're back to normal! I'm glad…”

Upon hearing that, the brunet turned his head facing the direction he heard the younger male's voice and panicked. “‘Back to normal’?! What happened?! Did I… Did I hurt you again?!”

“No.” Aichi replied, moving closer to the confused male and stroking the spiky brown locks. “Everything's fine.”

But that did not ease the older male's anxiety. As soon as he regained his sight, he pulled himself away from the blue haired male, trying to create distance between the two. “Stay away…” he told the winged male, his voice wavering. “I may lose control again… no, I will lose control again… even now, I can feel my head getting jumbled… and the scent…”

The last bit of that sentence caught Aichi's attention. “Scent? What scent?”

“...Whenever I'm with you…” Kai groaned, “There is a scent… one whiff and I feel…” And suddenly, Aichi knew what was going on. If what he was thinking was indeed the case, then in order to calm Kai down…

Aichi's entire face turned red at the thought. It was one of the last things he had considered doing. Sure, there was no guarantee that it would work, but he knew he had to try for Kai's sake. Watching as the older male was rolling on the ground, trying to regain full control of himself looked painful. He wanted to free him of that pain. His determination set, Aichi rushed to the bag of items and pulled out something he picked out just in case of something like this happening; a pair of handcuffs. He then quickly made his way to Kai's side and though he had a little issue trying to get the brunet in the right position and staying that way, he managed to get them on.

With the handcuffs now on, it would be harder for Kai's demonic side to attack anyone, especially not Aichi. The winged male took a deep breath as he lowered himself to the ground, sitting near Kai. “Kai,” he began, “I think I know a way to help make it stop, but I want you to give me the okay before I do so.”

A growl escaped the older male's lips as his control grew weaker. “You don't need to ask me!” he shouted. “Just do it!”

Even with Kai's harsh approval, Aichi was still nervous with what he would be doing. He was also worried that that since the older male had no idea what the blue haired boy was about to do, he may be allowing it not knowing what he was going to get himself into. “Kai, you should know that I'm going to-!”

“I don't care what it is you need to do!” Kai roared. “I really don't! If you think it'll help then-!” Another roar escaped. “Just hurry!”

The winged male took another deep breath. “Okay… Just please don't get mad for what I'm about to do…”

“I told you I don't care! Just do it Ai-!”

Before Kai could finish his sentence, Aichi slammed his lips on the taller male's. It was not like their usual tender kisses. This kiss was forceful and awkward. The brunet would've questioned the random action from his lover as the former was trying to fight for control, but his mind was hazy and he was unable to think properly. Noticing that Kai was not as aggressive after that, Aichi deepened the kiss, plunging his tongue into the moist cavern as one of his hands roamed up and down the taller male's chest. Kai let out a moan before another sound took over, resembling a cat's purr. The winged male felt a tinge of satisfaction as he pleased the brunet.

His hand then roamed down the older male's chest, passing his stomach and reaching the bulge that was forming in the latter's pants. Aichi slowly massaged the bulge, increasing Kai's pleasure tenfold. Noticing how uncomfortable it felt, he then unzipped his pants, reached in and pulled out the hard member from its tight confines.

“A-Aichi-ahhhh!” Kai moaned.

“It's okay, Kai.” Aichi whispered calmly, planting a kiss in the brunet's hair. “It'll be over soon.”

So he said, but the younger male was nervous for what he was about to do, touching Kai's cock directly. He had never touched himself in the same way he was about to do for the older male, for he never had the urge to do so. This did not mean he was oblivious of the act though. As a man himself, he would of course know should this urge rise within him. He just never knew he would use it for another man, as much as he loved Kai. He stared at the manhood before him, not unlike his but bigger, standing like a soldier ready for battle. With another deep breath, he took the plunge and reached out for the hot, throbbing member.

With clumsy, awkward movements, Aichi did his best to relieve the brunet from his suffering. He paid close attention to Kai's facial expressions, using that to know what gave him pleasure and what did not. He found that he let out the best sound whenever Aichi gave it a good grip and ran it up and down with slight intensity, but not too tight as to hurt him. Kai would keep alternating between moaning and purring as the pleasure consumed him. As the blue haired boy massaged the tip of the older male's cock with his thumb, his eyes gazed at the pale nape exposed to him. Aichi found himself unable to resist pressing his lips against it, kissing all over.

But then another urge consumed him.

With his free hand, Aichi reached down and unzipped his pants, freeing his own manhood, which had slowly grown bigger watching Kai writhe to his touch. Soon, his own moans melded with Kai's, creating a melody of lust and pleasure. Aichi raised his head and slammed his lips against the older male's once again; tongues partaking in a sloppy wet dance, causing saliva to drip from the sides of their swollen red lips. But neither male cared. Their minds were numb from the ecstasy heating up their entire bodies.

After some time had passed, their sounds grew in crescendo as the two teenage boys got closer to the finale. Aichi's hands grew tired from the pumping and, not wanting to be denied any more pleasure, his manhood began grinding against Kai's. Kai too became unable to take it and leaned into the warmth.

Both males kept this up until finally, they had reached their climax. A milky white residue came flying out from both them, melding together on Kai's stomach. His lust now gone, Aichi was able to think clearly again. It took him a minute to recall what had just happened. The moment he did, cerulean eyes widened with shock. With haste, the winged male rushed to get some tissues and wipe Kai's stomach. He kept at it until there was not a trace left. He looked up at the brunet. It seemed like his mind was still numb from the intense pleasure.

“...What have I done…?!”

Aichi ran to the bathroom, leaving Kai lying on the ground, handcuffed. The older male had slowly regained his senses after a couple more minutes and during that time, he too began to realize what had just happened. Aichi had touched his… and Kai, he… and then they...

Recalling the recent events caused Kai's face to turn a bright scarlet. He couldn't believe that had just happened. Worst of all, he couldn't believe he ended up dragging Aichi into this. He looked around only to find the winged male was nowhere to be found. He called out for the younger male, getting a yelp in response coming from the bathroom.

He knew that sound anywhere.

“Aichi?” he called out, trying to make his way to the door but was unable to get up with his arms handcuffed behind him. “Are you okay?”

From inside the bathroom, Aichi was leaning against the wall, mortified for what had conspired the past half an hour at most. He couldn't believe the first time he touched himself in such a manner, it was while trying to help Kai. He wasn't sure how he could face him.

“Answer me, Aichi! Are you okay?!” he could hear Kai's voice from behind the door again.

He knew he couldn't hide in the bathroom for too long. He didn't want to keep the older male waiting. Besides, he couldn't keep Kai handcuffed. He took a deep breath as he calmed himself down before heading out the bathroom, facing the music.

Cerulean eyes met teal as Aichi walked over to Kai. “Are you feeling better now?” he asked out of concern. “Should I take the handcuffs off?”

“Leave them on.” Kai responded. “I've regained control for now but who knows how long it'll last. Instead, I want you to tell me what the hell just happened.”

Aichi lowered his gaze. “Of course. You need to know.” He sat down in front of the brunet. “I wasn't one hundred percent certain about this, but considering you have your senses back, it confirms my theory. Kai; you were in heat.”

Silence filled the room as Kai tried to process what was just said to him. “In heat?” he asked as soon as he got his voice back. “You make it sound like some wild animal. Although… I guess I am given what has happened the past week or so.”

“That's not all.” the prince continued. “If we consider in addition to your heat your ability to breathe fire as well as your immunity to it… those are traits of a red dragon…”

Teal eyes widened. “A red dragon?! Me, a dragon?!”

“I know, it sounds strange. I mean, supposing it's true and you are a red dragon, why do you look like a human? As far as I know, transformation magic doesn't exist.”

“So then I'm not a dragon.”

Aichi shook his head. “We can't cross that possibility out just yet. I'm not saying transformation magic doesn't exist, just that it's beyond my knowledge. Besides, I can't think of anything else it could be.”

Kai adjusted himself so he could sit more comfortably. “Then supposing that's true and I was going through my heat period… I’m not an expert on biology but doesn't the timing seem… off?”

“What do you mean?” the winged male asked out of confusion.

“Like… the times I go into heat are so close together.”

Aichi pondered this. He walked over to the bed and reached into the bag, pulling out a pen and notepad. He then sat down on the bed, opened up the notepad, and began writing. “When would you say was the earliest time you might've gone into heat?” He blushed. “It… doesn't have to have been… as intense as it was today.”

It was now Kai's turn to think. The earliest he could think of... “I think it was the day after you appeared so July 30th.”

From that point, they went over all the days Kai had supposedly gone into heat; the night of the summer festival, their slow dance, the night he bit Aichi, the first time they kissed. As they recalled the days those events took place on, they noticed that Kai was indeed right and his heat was irregular. After the first time Kai went into heat (which wasn't even that bad), it didn't start up again until after a week had passed, at which point his heat would pop up almost daily and grew more intense.

“That doesn't make sense though.” Aichi spoke up after looking at the schedule he had written down. “Even ignoring the possibility that you are a red dragon, it's impossible to go into heat this frequently.”

“It's definitely strange.” Kai replied. “Even if we keep in mind that this had not happened to me until you appeared, to suddenly be overwhelmed like this…”

The blue haired male nodded. “I'll monitor your heat cycle and see if we can figure out how we can find a way to keep it stable that… doesn't involve… you know.”

It was clear with how he said that that the whole thing was uncomfortable for him. Kai felt guilty. He didn't intend for it to happen. “Aichi… I…”

Aichi gave him an assuring smile as he shook his head. “Don't worry about it. What's done is done.”

So he said, but after that, the rest of the day was spent in awkward silence. Neither could start a conversation, which was not that unusual for Kai, but Aichi was usually one who couldn't last five minutes without talking. The brunet worried for the other male, but whenever he tried to bring the subject up, Aichi would try to avoid the topic. Even when they both agreed that it was safe to take Kai's handcuffs off, they barely spoke to each other.

But he found the worst of it happened the moment it was time to go to bed. Ever since they started sleeping together, even if they weren't snuggled together, they would still be sleeping close to each other. However, Aichi decided to go to sleep with his back facing Kai and tried to avoid contact when the older male tried to wrap his arm around him. Kai feared that if this kept up, it would damage their relationship.

‘I won't allow it!’ a voice in the back of his head rang out. ‘I'm not going to lose him again! He's mine!’

Kai didn't know where this voice was coming from, but the migraine it brought him was insufferable. He cradled his head in his arms as he laid on the bed, inwardly screaming for the voice to stop, but the voice continued to repeat the same lines; ‘I won't give him up.’ ‘He will stay at my side.’ ‘He's mine!’ The constant pestering eventually made him snap.

“STOP!”

As commanded, the voice disappeared from Kai's head. The brunet snapped his head and looked over at the boy beside him, relieved to see that his screaming didn't wake him up. He let out a sigh before resting his head back on the pillow. As he drifted into dreamland, he feared for not only his relationship with Aichi and his self restraint, but also his sanity.


	29. Chapter 28: Drunk on Love

Nothingness.

To think after days without them, the dreams have begun again. He had not missed the nothingness that surrounded him, for after feeling a comforting warmth, he didn't want to return to that cold, dark world. But he has been sent back to this world as much as he didn't want to, and he knew all he could do was wait for whatever horrors were to haunt him tonight.

So it was a surprise when everything remained in nothingness; seeing nothing but the dark, empty space void of any living being aside from himself, complete with silence. Nothing bad was happening but there was nothing pleasant about it either. He just wanted something to happen so he could just get it over with.

And so something did. A voice rang from within his head, filling his head with intense pain. It was loud and screaming, full of anger and spite yet with a tinge of sorrow and loneliness. He pressed his fingers against his temples, trying to ease the pain, but it grew louder and louder.

"STOP!" he shouted from the top of his lungs. And like magic, the voice came to a complete halt. He was relieved that it stopped. It felt like his nightmares were going to go easy on him tonight.

But when he looked in front of him again, he wasn't so sure if he should celebrate just yet.

The voice was gone, but a figure appeared in front of him with it's back facing him. He didn't know who or what they were, for their entire body was shrouded in silhouette, but that didn't stop his feet from moving on their own, walking towards the new guest. As soon as he was right behind it, he examined it closely. The silhouette had a humanoid shape but didn't look completely human. Not only that, but it wasn't the average height for a human. It looked about the size of a small person; a child? It was hard to describe it.

As if aware of his presence, the silhouette began to speak, and it was then he realized that this silhouette was the voice he kept hearing. "I won't let them take him away from me… I don't want to be alone anymore! Anyone who gets in my way… is my enemy…"

Suddenly, the silhouette changed shape, growing bigger and less human. It was clear to him that it was no longer a humanoid silhouette he was looking at, but rather a monster that was out of control. Not wanting to feel the creature's wrath, he began to run as fast as he could, trying to escape. But as soon as he was a bit a ways from the beast, the invisible ground below him gave way and he found himself falling.

Falling… falling… falling…

This felt all too familiar to him, and it only affirmed it the moment he saw the crimson balls of flame floating around. He had a similar dream to this before. The question was why was he having this dream again? Then again, when did any of his dreams make sense to him?

He kept falling and falling, avoiding the flames as he fell, before he began floating down and eventually made his way to the invisible ground. If he remembered correctly from the last time he had this dream, the balls of flame would go out, then a bright light would appear, and the bright light would then turn into a giant ruby. And all that happened just like he predicted. The giant ruby appeared before him and this time, he was given time to examine it. Like before, he noticed something from inside the ruby. Judging the shape, it appeared to be a human silhouette. Why was someone in the ruby and how did they get in there?

Just as he was thinking that, a roar interrupted his thoughts. His eyes widened as he remembered the rest of the dream. He looked up to see the crimson dragon with feathered wings fly towards him and the ruby. Unlike the last time he had this dream however, he was not afraid of the giant beast. He knew that it wouldn't hurt him. As he predicted, the dragon flew past him and made its way to the ruby, curling up around it.

"You are safe…" He could hear the voice again. It seemed to be coming from the dragon, which he had to assume was the silhouette from earlier. It seemed like it was talking to… the ruby? No, it was talking to the person in the ruby. "I won't let anyone separate us. We'll be together forever…"

Why was the dragon talking to the ruby like that? What was the relationship between it and the person trapped in the ruby? He didn't have the time to think about it though, for the dragon caught notice of something behind him and let out a threatening growl. He turned around. The horde of decaying winged people was coming their way. Could they be trying to take the ruby from the dragon?

"Get away!" the dragon roared. "I won't let you take him away from me!"

A war was about to start between the winged people and the dragon and he was standing in the middle of it. He tried to move so he wasn't in the way but he couldn't move his feet. If he didn't move soon, he was going to be caught in the crossfire. Both the winged beings and the dragon were charging up their attacks; their magic and fire breath respectively. He needed to hurry and move. But it was too late. Both attacks were fired and about to hit him from both sides…

XxXxX

Kai woke up with a jolt, staring wide eyed at the ceiling. He had to assume it was still the middle of the night considering how dark it still was. To think he would have another nightmare. But it should be impossible for him to have a nightmare like this. After all, they never appeared as long as he slept beside-!

He felt the space beside him to find that it was empty. Aichi was supposed to be there beside him. Where did he go? He sat up and looked around, but it didn't take him long to find the person in question. Aichi was sitting at the desk with his head hung low. Kai had no idea as to why the blue haired male was sitting alone in the dark let alone still awake at this hour.

"Aichi?" the older male groggily called out.

The blue haired male jumped before looking at the other male. He could barely see him in the darkness, but he could see enough to know he was there. "I'm sorry." he replied. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I… woke up on my own." said Kai. He didn't want to worry the younger male with his nightmares. However, it was clear the winged male could see through him. He continued. "You should get back to bed. We have rehearsal tomorrow… or today…"

Aichi hung his head low as he thought about it. It was true that they had rehearsal soon, but he had too much on his mind; stuff he couldn't talk to Kai about no matter what. Then again, he doubted that he could talk to anyone about this problem. Not wanting to worry the brunet though, he got up from the chair and made his way back to the bed, laying down.

Once again, he was trying to avoid Kai.

Kai wanted to know why the blue haired male was giving him the cold shoulder; obviously bothered by it. However, he knew this was not the right time to confront him on it. He knew he would have to wait until after rehearsal before he can talk about it with him.

He went back to sleep until the sun shined in through the curtains. The two males got up, ate breakfast, and got ready in complete and awkward silence. Once they were both set, they went out the door and off to rehearsal. The silence continued all the way there until they made it to the theater where everyone was waiting for them.

Just as Tsukiko was about to give the instructions for the day, Aichi interrupted her. "I'm sorry, Miss Tsukiko," he began, "But could I possibly make a suggestion?"

The blonde woman stared at him with surprise. "Well, since you all are my precious cast, I do like to know what you think. Go ahead."

The blue haired boy took a deep breath before speaking. "We have been working on the acting a lot by now. The play has singing, right? Shouldn't we practice the songs?"

Tsukiko began to ponder. "You are right. We've practiced so much that you practically have the lines and stage direction down and the singing is important… plus the songs are practically finished already... Alright! Today, we're going to practice on the songs!"

And so, the group began to practice the songs. While the whole thing didn't seem strange to everyone, Kai was suspicious. Why would Aichi make a suggestion like that? While he may give his opinion at times, he usually wouldn't oppose to whatever he was told to do unless he was uncomfortable with it. Kai was almost convinced he deliberately made that suggestion so the both of them wouldn't make physical contact. Now he absolutely knew he needed to confront him about this as soon as possible.

After some time had passed, just as Aichi was practicing his solo with Tsukiko playing piano, Kai felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned around to see who else but his best friend. Miwa gestured for Kai to follow him. They walked out the door and into the hallway. As soon as they were assured that they were alone and no one could hear them, the blond male spoke up. "So, I'm guessing something happened between you and Aichi again, didn't it?"

Kai leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. "It's that obvious, huh?"

"Aichi is not a guy who can hide his emotions very well." Miwa replied. "So… what did you do this time?"

Teal eyes widened. "Why do you assume it's my fault?"

"Hasn't it always been with you two?"

"Well, I..." He was about to retort until he remembered what happened yesterday. Aichi said that everything was fine after their… incident… but maybe it wasn't okay after all and the winged male was only saying that so as to not worry the older male. The brunet looked down at the ground.

Miwa crossed his arms as he analyzed his friend's sudden change in expression. "So it was your fault…"

"...Maybe it was, but I don't know what it is exactly. I already plan to confront him about it after rehearsal."

"Really? Then I'm rooting for you." The blond remarked.

Kai eyed his friend. "You're not gonna question it?"

"Not my business." said Miwa. "Whatever it is is between you and Aichi. I'm not gonna step into this one. I just want to know one thing though; how do you plan to do it?"

"What do you mean?" Kai questioned, confused.

"You can't just go up and interrogate him. If he's already this uncomfortable around you, you'll only make it worse. Trust me; the guy is as nervous as a rabbit. You have to help him relax; ease him in before asking him what's up."

"And how do you propose I do that?"

Miwa shrugged. "I don't know. You know Aichi better than I do. Do something he'll like."

Kai pondered that for a bit. Something that Aichi would like… He knows the younger male like flying and books, but he couldn't spend money on a book, and if he did, what book would he give him? Supposing Aichi likes the book, it may detract his attention off the brunet. Flying was most definitely out of the question. It wasn't like there were any areas Kai knew of where Aichi could fly freely without being seen. It seemed like this would have to be something he would have to think about.

"We should get back in before everyone wonders what's taking us." Miwa continued. "Hope you and Aichi are able to sort it out."

The two males went back inside to find that the group had just finished practicing Aichi's solo. Now that they were back, Tsukiko suggested that they practice one of the duets between Draco and Lucia. The song took place during the time Draco and Lucia first meet after Draco turned human; the same scene they practiced the dance to for a while. They heard the demo of the song many times while practicing the dance, but it was the first time they were about to practice the song itself.

As typical of practicing something, the two males didn't get the song perfect, but they weren't completely terrible. Tsukiko asked the two to practice the song while facing each other as they would need to do so for the actual performance. And so, they did, though very awkwardly, especially on Aichi's end. The blue haired boy had hoped he wouldn't need to do anything that had him making contact with the older male, but having to stare at him while they sang… it felt like the latter was staring into his heart, his soul, able to read everything he thought, he felt.

It was like he was exposing all of the good and the bad about him.

While they were trying to practice the song, Aichi was so nervous that he kept slipping up the words and the melody. Tsukiko tried to help Aichi ease up, telling him that everything was okay. Unfortunately, it didn't make Aichi feel any better.

The next attempt they made, it was Kai who screwed up. As they sang, he accidentally bit his tongue. This resulted in him making a yelp of pain as he scrunched his face and stuck his tongue out. The room was filled with giggles as the other boys laughed. They found Kai's reaction to biting his own tongue hilarious. When he looked, even Aichi was giggling. He was glad to see that the blue haired boy was feeling less awkward now.

After that, the song practice went on a lot more smoothly. There were a few flubs every now and then, mainly on Aichi's end, but other than that, they were doing pretty well. Eventually, the whole day flew by and it was time to go home. Before everyone left however, Tsukiko stopped them.

"I want to say that I am proud of how everyone has been doing so far." she told them. "We had our ups and downs, but it hasn't made a dent in your progress. And to reward you for all your hard work…" She reached out from under the piano and pulled out a box. "... I brought you some chocolates."

The boys cheered as they crowded around the blonde woman. Tsukiko opened the box and placed it on top of the piano, letting the boys take some chocolates. The only one who didn't rush for them was Kai, not really feeling in the mood for chocolate. He simply watched the others as they enjoyed the sweet delight. Tsukiko managed to take one for herself before walking over to the brunet.

"You sure you don't want some, Toshiki?" she asked.

"I'm good." Kai replied.

The older woman simply shrugged it off before plopping the chocolate in her mouth. She hummed in satisfaction with the taste, but it slowly changed into a puzzled expression. Kai was concerned.

"What's up?" he asked.

Blue eyes widened in realization as she rushed over to the box cover. She analyzed the box before she turned pale; her face consumed with pure fear. She looked at the other half of the box to see that all of the chocolates were gone.

"Boys!" she cried out. "Stop eating the chocolates!"

But when she looked over towards them, she could see that she was too late. Not a single chocolate was left in their possession and they didn't appear to look well. Kai noticed this too and rushed over to Tsukiko, taking the cover out of her hands and looking it over himself. He too grew terrified of what was read on the box.

Alcoholic chocolates.

"You gave them alcoholic chocolates?!" he shouted at the older woman.

"They shouldn't have been!" Tsukiko replied in panic. "They said these chocolates were good for a celebration and I specifically told them 'Non-alcoholic'!" She took a deep breath. "Okay, don't panic! These chocolates don't taste like they have much alcohol in them and they only have a small punch to them. Depending on how many each of them took and how high their alcohol tolerance is, it may not be that big of an issue."

"Hey, Mom?"

Tsukiko and Kai looked over to see Miwa walking over the them. Tsukiko rushed over to him and examined him. "Taishi! Are you okay?! How do you feel?!"

The blond male placed his hand on his forehead. "A little dizzy but nothing too bad. You said these chocolates were alcoholic?"

The older woman nodded. "Do you remember how many each of you took?"

Miwa tried to think. "I only took a few myself. I think Izaki took the same amount as me. Morikawa and Aichi took the most of it."

Teal eyes widened. "You mean Aichi consumed a lot of those chocolates?!" Kai cried.

Tsukiko placed her hand on the brunet's shoulder. "Calm down, Toshiki. For all we know, he may look like that, but he could have a high tolerance."

She was immediately proven wrong when they noticed him constantly tripping as he walked while giggling like a madman. They examined the others. Izaki was sleeping while Morikawa was rambling over random stuff. One thing was for certain; with the exception of Miwa, everyone looked intoxicated. Tsukiko knew it would be a bad idea to take the boys home in their state. She didn't want the parents to find out she accidentally gave their children alcohol. It was decided that she and Miwa would take Morikawa and Izaki back to their place while Kai would take Aichi home. Tsukiko offered to drive them back to Kai's apartment, and as much as the brunet would decline the offer, he knew it would be a bad idea to carry Aichi all the way home in the dark with the blue haired boy in this state. He decided to accept the offer, and so after the blonde woman locked up the theater, she drove everyone home.

As soon as they reached Kai's apartment, Miwa offered to help Kai carry Aichi inside, but the brunet declined. He had no issues carrying the blue haired boy and he didn't think the blond was in a good enough state to help. He got out of the van, picked up Aichi who immediately snuggled against the taller male upon contact, and carried him in.

The first thing he did when they got inside was lay Aichi down on the bed, go into the kitchen, and pour a glass of water. He then took the glass over to the blue haired male, making sure that he drinks it. Aichi reached for the glass, but instead grabbed Kai's wrist and pulled him onto the bed, pinning him down. The sudden action caused the brunet to drop the glass onto the ground, spilling the water and creating a puddle on the floor.

"Aichi?" He didn't know why he suddenly did that. Then again, who knows what goes a person's mind while they're drunk? He tried to push Aichi off. "I'm going to get you another glass of water and this time, you-!"

"Kai…" The younger male used all his weight to keep Kai down on the bed. He leaned in and rested his head in the crook of the brunet's neck. "You smell so good…"

The older male was starting to get the feeling that things were about to get bad. He needed to get out of there. Once again, he tried to push Aichi off, but the winged male was persistent in keeping him here. It kept going until Kai felt something that confirmed his fears.

He could feel something hard rubbing his leg.

"Aichi! Get off!" he growled. To think that Aichi would get horny when he's drunk. And a drunk, horny Aichi was a bad thing, especially when combined with Kai's heat. If he didn't do something to stop it, they would be doing something they would both regret.

But it was no use. Kai was bigger and stronger yet Aichi was sly and persistent, even when drunk. He knew where to push to keep Kai pinned down on the bed. The blue haired boy kept pressing his lips against the older male's neck, sucking on the skin and making marks all over, while sliding his hand under Kai's shirt and caressing his chest, causing the latter to moan. If they went on for another minute, Kai knew he would lose all self restraint and he too would succumb to his lust.

But before Kai reached his limit, Aichi immediately fell asleep. It was rather sudden but the brunet was willing to take it. Trying to be careful not to wake him up, Kai slipped out from Aichi's grasp, properly adjusted him so he was laying on the right side of the bed, and tucked him in. He then walked over and picked up the glass, thankful that it didn't break after being dropped like that, and returned it to the kitchen.

Never had he seen Aichi so assertive like that. To think that getting him drunk would unleash this side of him. It didn't make for him falter though; it was just surprising that he had a side of him like that. It would be a lie to say that he didn't find this assertive Aichi attractive, but he loved the winged prince no matter who he was.

One thing was for certain though; he would have to wait until morning to confront the younger male about everything.

XxXxX

The sun shined through the curtains as morning came. The light hit Aichi's face, causing him to groan from the sudden contact. He was then hit with a massive migraine banging his head like a drum. He opened his eyes and slowly sat up. Why was it so bright out? Wasn't it supposed to be nighttime? His stomach growled. He certainly felt like he hadn't eaten in hours. He then got a whiff of something good. He turned his head and looked in the direction of the smell. Kai was in the kitchen cooking something.

Upon noticing the younger male was awake, Kai made sure the food was okay to leave alone before pouring a glass of water and bringing it over to Aichi. "Here. It'll help with your hangover."

Aichi gratefully accepted it and took a sip. Seeing that he was okay now, Kai went back to check on the food. As soon as the food was done, he got the table set up and put breakfast on the table, gesturing for Aichi to sit down and eat.

Awkward silence filled the room as the two males ate. Kai didn't know how to bring up last night to the blue haired male, and even if he did, he didn't think it was probably a good idea to speak so much as Aichi was currently hungover. He decided to keep quiet as they ate and wait until they finish before discussing it.

The one that ended up starting the conversation was Aichi. After eating breakfast and drinking some water, he was in a better state than he was when he just woke up and thus knew something happened. He asked Kai what had happened between the end of rehearsal and this current moment. Kai was shocked with the fact that Aichi would bring it up first, but was also grateful for it as that meant he didn't have to bring it up himself. He began to explain what had happened; the fact that the chocolates Aichi and the others ate had alcohol in it, the fact that Aichi ended up wasted with the amount he ate, the fact that he tried to assault Kai after they got home but fell asleep before the worst happened. After hearing everything, Aichi sat there and covered his face with his hands, deeply ashamed for what he heard he had done. He began to sob in his hands.

"I'm so sorry, Kai!" he cried. "I-I didn't mean to…"

Kai was taken aback. He didn't expect Aichi to break down into tears. "Nothing happened though. Everything is fine."

"It's not fine though!" The winged male looked up at the older male with devastated cerulean hues, tears rolling down his cheeks. "I lost control of myself and almost attacked you! I let these… urges inside me take over…"

"Urges?" the brunet questioned. It was truly the first time he heard something like this. Could this be connected to whatever made Aichi act strangely? He needed to know.

The blue haired male looked down at the ground. After everything, there was no reason for him to keep it secret anymore. "I've felt a lot of things while living my life; joy, sadness, anger, fear, loneliness, love, loss. But there was one thing I had never felt until now… and honestly, I'm scared."

"... What is it? What has you scared?"

"... While I was helping you suppress your heat… for the first time in my life, I've felt… lustful desire; a-a need to… to touch and… to kiss… a-and I want to… I want to…"

Kai moved closer. "It's okay. You can say it."

Aichi looked up, staring deep into real eyes. His cheeks were flushed. "... I-I want to…" He bit his lip. "... to caress you and… make you writhe as… you also desire me… a pleasure… that for an instant connects us… and it's like we've become one…" He covered his face with his hands. "I'm sorry. To have these thoughts-!"

But the brunet merely chuckles as he places his hand on the smaller male's shoulder. "That's nothing to be ashamed of. You're desiring a bit more of a physical relationship as well as a romantic one. It's pretty common to feel."

"Even so…"

Before he could say any more, Kai pulled Aichi into a hug. He ran his fingers through the silky blue locks as he brought his lips over to the younger male's ear. "In all honesty," he whispered in a sultry voice, "I find it rather flattering."

Cerulean eyes widened. Aichi's cheeks were so red and hot, it almost seemed like it would produce steam. "K-K-Kai!"

"And what if I told you," the brunet continued, "that maybe part of the reason I go into heat whenever I get a whiff of your smell is because I want to do the same things to you?"

At that moment, Aichi broke from both the shock and the embarrassment. It was all too much for him to take. He was so completely overwhelmed by all this information that he immediately fainted in Kai's arms.

When he regained consciousness, he was leaning against something warm, like a warm, tender flame. His sight was blurry so he couldn't properly see his surroundings. His hearing on the other hand, though coming back, was more clearer. He kept hearing a voice calling his name. It was coming from right beside him; where the thing he was leaning on was.

He looked up and saw something he never thought to see. Within his blurry sight, he saw a humanoid creature covered in red scales, just like before on the beach. The creature stared at him with striking golden eyes, observing the blue haired male closely with his long pointy ears leaned back. Aichi blinked; his sight regaining focus as he did. When he did, the creature was gone and Kai took its place. The brunet appeared to be relieved.

"I'm glad you're alright." he sighed. "You just fainted out of the blue."

Aichi was confused at first. For a brief moment, he could have sworn… but he wasn't sure if the older male would believe him or not, so he kept quiet. However, when he remembered what had happened before he fainted, his face turned red again. He sat up, staring straight at the brunet. "Wh-What you had said b-before… was that…?"

Kai knew what the younger male was talking about and averted his gaze, his cheeks also a little red. "Is that so bad?"

"I-I didn't mean it like that." Cerulean eyes looked down, his hands fidgeting with his fingers. "I just thought… I don't know, that maybe you'd be… disappointed with me? A-And I mean… well… I just... ahaha, I don't even remember what I was trying to say."

Large hands appeared and enveloped Aichi's smaller hands into them. "Why would I be disappointed in you? It's natural to want to embrace you one you like, right? And the fact that you feel… the same as I do… doesn't that show we make a good match?"

"Kai…"

The two males stared deep into each other's eyes, smiling at each other. There was so much love and adoration in their gaze, it took their breaths away. The two were so absorbed and infatuated with each other this very moment, they subconsciously moved closer to each other. They were so close, their lips almost touching each other's-!

Suddenly, Kai's cell phone rang.

With that, their intimate moment shattered from the sudden interruption. Kai got up and walked over, looking to see who would be calling. Of course, it was Miwa.

"What do you want?" Kai spoke the moment he answered the phone, not bothering to hide his slight irritation.

"What's got you so grumpy?" Miwa chuckled. "Let me guess; you and Aichi were having a precious moment before I called." The brunet simply replied with a low growl. "I'm right, am I?"

"Just tell me why you called?"

"Right, sorry. Well, I have good news for you then. Mom's giving everyone a day off as an apology for getting everyone drunk. However, she's expecting the three of us to be at rehearsal tomorrow."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "The three of us?"

"Morikawa and Izaki are given an extra day off. She thinks they need it after always being at rehearsal while both you and Aichi have had some extra breaks already yourselves. Besides, there are plenty of scenes that could be acted out without them."

"How come you still have to go to rehearsal then? Haven't you gone every day as well?"

"Yeah, but I'm also the bad guy. Don't worry; it doesn't bother me! I want to do anything to help my mom's production go down swimmingly. So, yeah. See you both tomorrow! Enjoy your romantic time with Aichi!" Kai was about to retort when his friend already hanged up. The brunet let out a long drawn up sigh before hanging up as well.

"Did something happened?"

He looked behind him to see Aichi standing there. "Miwa just called to say we have the day off, but we have to be at rehearsal tomorrow."

Aichi nodded to show he understood. "I really hope I didn't cause the others too much trouble as well…"

"You didn't." Kai assured him. "If anything, I'd say the others were just as much trouble as you were."

It was then that Aichi noticed something he didn't notice before. On one side of Kai's neck were small red marks that looked like bug bites. He raised his hand and traced the marks with his fingers. "Where did these marks come from?" he asked. "Are there bugs in the apartment?"

Kai was confused at what he meant until he remembered what it was. "Not bugs." he replied. "They belong to something more persistent."

"What's that?"

The brunet smirked. "Drunk winged beings."

Aichi groaned as he covered his face again. "I can't believe I did that…"

A large hand landed on the younger male's head. "Well, at least we know what you're like when you're drunk so we can try to avoid it in the future."

Cerulean eyes looked up. "So what are you like when you're drunk?"

"Don't know." Kai replied with a shrug. "I've never been drunk. Besides, I'm underage."

"Underage?" Aichi asked. "You have to be a certain age to drink?"

The older male stared at the blue haired male. "Such a thing doesn't exist in the Cloudlands?"

The winged male shrugged. "There probably is. I know my parents forbid me from drinking alcohol."

Somehow, it didn't surprise Kai to hear that. Aichi's parents sounded like people who were very protective of their son. It reminded him that he still didn't know much about Aichi. Sure, he knew enough that they definitely couldn't be considered acquaintances anymore, but at the same time it didn't feel like he knew him enough to have a more intimate relationship with him, and admittedly he never told Aichi the same about himself. He decided that he was going to change it.

And he knew exactly what it is he needed to do.

"Hey, Aichi?" he spoke up. "Since we have the day off, how about we go out?"

Aichi was confused by the sudden request, but he wasn't really against it. A day out without having to worry about rehearsal sounded nice. "That's fine with me." he responded. "Where exactly were you thinking?"

Kai pondered. Where should they go? He snapped his fingers as he figured it out. It was perfect. It was definitely what they needed. With this, they would surely be closer.

"How about I show you places in the city you haven't been to yet?"


	30. Chapter 29: First Date

After changing into some different clothes and checking to see what they would need, Kai and Aichi walked out the door to the apartment and to the city. The blue haired boy was confused as to why the older male would insist on going out. Although their relationship had been better after their time at the resort, Kai was still not the most sociable person ever. He seemed like the type who preferred staying in. So why the change of heart here? Even so, Aichi couldn't deny that he was anticipating what it was his beloved had planned. Despite going to places here and there, the winged male didn't have the chance to see what more Earth offered in terms of places and things to do, especially with the Black Winged Clan chasing them everywhere. Even now, the black wings were a concern, but he didn't want to waste this chance; just him and Kai out in the town. It was probably the only chance they were gonna have with how busy they'd been with rehearsal.

He examines the brunet, who had changed into a fully zipped up white shirt with a brown jacket, hiding the marks Aichi made on his neck. The younger male blushed at the thought. He still couldn't believe he was aggressive enough to make those marks in his drunken stupor. It felt so unlike him to do something like that.

Their eyes met. "Something up?" Kai asked.

Aichi averted his gaze and looked down at the ground. "No, I mean…" He tried to think about what to say. "... You said we could go wherever I wanted… but it was so sudden, I haven't considered where I do want to go."

Kai shrugged. "There's no rush. You see any place you want to go to, just say the word."

They continued walking through the bustling streets, observing the buildings they past as they walked by. There were so many places; Aichi had no idea where to start. He also wasn't sure what places Kai would like. The brunet said that he was fine with wherever Aichi wanted to go, but the winged male didn't want to bore him with his choice.

After walking a few blocks, they came across something that caught the blue haired male's eye, causing him to stop as he looked in awe.

Standing before them was a quaint little book shop. It stood out of place with the tall buildings on either side, having an antique feel with the store front and how the books were displayed in front of the window. Kai noticed how Aichi's eyes shined upon laying eyes on it and couldn't contain a smile. He should've known the younger male would not resist the opportunity to explore a bookstore.

"Do you wanna go in?" he asked, getting the winged male's attention.

Aichi jumped out of his trance as he looked up at the older male. "What? I mean, it would be nice, but-!"

"Then let's go in."

The blue haired boy was about to retort, but Kai was already walking in. Aichi could've sworn he was getting a case of deja vu; like something like this happened before. Not wanting to be left behind, he rushed in after the older male.

The inside looked bigger than the outside. Tons of bookshelves decorated the entire room, lined up perfectly organized. It didn't take long for Aichi to start exploring; walking over to one of the shelves and looking over the different books there. Kai simply watched as the blue haired boy scanned through the different books there, gauging the latter's reaction to each one he came across.

Observing him, Kai was able to see exactly what type of books Aichi seemed to like. He already knew Aichi liked fantasy and fairy tales and his curiosity for the world around him showed he enjoyed reading encyclopedias and reference books, but there were more surprises to be revealed. It seemed like genre was not an issue when looking at a book, for cerulean eyes gazed wondrously at the various novels he picked up and scanned. However, it seemed like his most desired type of stories were fantasy based while he didn't seem that fond with horror or adult based. He didn't seem that interested in manga either. He picked one up and looked through the pages, but appeared to be confused and put it down.

Watching Aichi look through all the books was one of the most amusing things he had ever seen. His different expressions to each book were enjoyable to watch. His favorite was when the winged male was looking in the manga section. He came across a certain manga and skimmed through the pages. As soon as he reached a certain page, he let out a surprised gasp as his face turned completely red. He immediately closed the book and put it back down before rushing to look at another book. Kai walked over to see what it was that flustered the younger male and chuckled upon finding it. It was a BL manga. Kai was not surprised that Aichi would react that way looking through that.

They continued browsing through the shop until Aichi came towards a particular book. Kai looked over the blue haired male's shoulder and read the cover: Romantic Journey in Another World. The brunet remembered hearing about this book. He had heard the author had gotten an award for it, so it had to be a really good book. Aichi must've had that vibe too, for he couldn't keep his eyes off it.

"You interested in it?" Kai spoke up.

Aichi looked up at him before looking back at the book. He put it back. "It looks interesting, but… there's no point in getting it. I mean, we're busy with rehearsal, right? And I don't think I could take it with me back home to the Cloudlands even if I were to get it."

It was clear to Kai that that was only an excuse. He knew the smaller male only said that so as not to inconvenience the brunet. After that, Aichi said he was ready to go, but Kai said he wanted to pick up some recipe books while they were there, wanting to learn more dishes to make. He told Aichi to wait for him at the entrance. Aichi complied and headed out, standing in front of the store.

After a few minutes of waiting, Kai walked out with a bag of books. Aichi looked at the bag before looking back up at the brunet. "You don't want to take that back home?" he asked.

Kai shook his head. "It's fine." he replied. "Where else do you want to go?"

It was Aichi's turn to shake his head. "You choose this time. I don't want to bore you just by doing what I want to do."

"You're not boring me." said Kai as they started walking. "It was refreshing to check out the bookstore."

"Do you like books?" Aichi asked as he cocked his head to the side. "I saw you had a few back in the apartment aside from the fairytale book and the Cloudlands book."

"I read on occasion. I can't say it's something I like to spend my time doing."

"What do you like to do then?"

Kai was deep in thought. "I guess… I like cooking. Baking is nice too."

The blue haired male smiled. "I love your cooking. If I could, I would only eat your cooking for the rest of my life."

The older male blushed. He had no idea on how to respond to that. He cleared his throat, deciding to change the subject. "Anyways, how about we go see a movie?"

Aichi looked at him curiously. "A movie? Isn't that something we can do back at home?"

"Yes," Kai replied, "But movie theaters usually show movies you can't watch at home yet."

The blue haired boy stared at him in disbelief. "They can do that?! How come? Why would they keep movies to themselves?"

"Well, let's just say that when movies first come out, they are treated almost like plays."

At that moment, cerulean eyes sparkled. "Like a play? How so? Do the actors perform in front of a live audience? How would they do so? Movies look pretty realistic. How would they show something so realistic looking on a stage? Humans can't use magic so it should be impossible. Not even winged beings could do that unless there was a type of magic like that."

He continued to ask questions as they made their way to the movie theater. Once they got there, they tried to figure out which movie they wanted to go see. After some debating, they both agreed on a comedy. They got their tickets then bought a giant bag of popcorn and some drinks before heading in and taking their seats.

The movie began and the two were enjoying themselves as they watched it, occasionally reaching for some popcorn and taking sips from their drinks. At one point in the middle of the movie, they reached for the popcorn at the same time and their hands touched. Both jumped from the sudden contact and blushed as their eyes met briefly. Kai let Aichi take some popcorn first before taking some for himself. They were awkward around each other for the rest of the movie.

After some time had passed, the movie ended, and both males left pretty satisfied. Aside from the popcorn incident, they had fun. However, as soon as they left, a huge crowd had swarmed all over the place. It didn't matter what they were doing there and why, but with his many people there were, it would be easy to get lost. To prevent that from happening, Kai took Aichi's hand and led him through the crowd. Aichi gasped from the sudden contact. He was surprised that Kai would do something like that in public and so shamelessly.

It was then that things started to click for the blue haired boy. Could it be…?

"Kai?" Aichi spoke up, cheeks tinted a light pink. "What it is we're doing right now… with our relationship the way it is… is this… a d-date?"

Cerulean eyes looked up to see the older male's face turn bright red. "... Is… that bad?" the latter muttered.

"N-Not at all!" the younger male exclaimed. He looked down at his feet as they walked. "It's just… I-I think I have a better understanding of what you meant when you said dates were different now."

Indeed, Aichi felt like he understood what made a date different from a regular outing. Back when they went out to the amusement park, he was simply having fun at a place with another person. But now with the bookstore and the movie, the winged male was still having fun, but he was also feeling nervous being around the same person he had so much at the amusement park with; his heart pounding against his chest and the butterflies fluttering in the pit of his stomach. To think that a change of relationship could affect how they casually go out and do things.

The two continued walking through the streets, hands locked together, even after they were out of the giant crowd. Neither male spoke, both rather flustered, unable to come up with a topic. Kai cursed his inability to start a conversation with ease. The entire point of this date was so he could learn more about Aichi, and while he learned a bit, he wasn't satisfied just yet.

They continued walking until they found themselves in front of an entrance. Aichi's curiosity drew him into it but Kai was hesitant to go in. The brunet explained that they were in front of an entrance to a petting zoo, telling Aichi exactly what it entailed. That only made the the younger male more excited to check it out. Having no choice in the matter, Kai reluctantly followed Aichi in, paying their entrance fees.

It was here that Kai learned about Aichi's fondness for animals, though thinking back, that should've been obvious. The winged male skipped around all giddy, excited to see what type of animals he'd get to see. And what he did get to see, he was not disappointed. He saw deer, goats, pigs, rabbits, chickens, and many other cute little animals. It didn't take him long to interact with them, and he began to make conversation with them as he pet them.

Meanwhile, Kai was feeling uncomfortable about being there. He could feel all of the animals staring at him; their monotonous faces emitting a scornful aura at the brunet. It was as if they saw through his human skin and saw the creature he was within. And of course, none of the animals would let him get close to them. It was clear from the atmosphere that he was not welcome. What he wouldn't give to hurry up and get out of there.

However, those thoughts halted when he caught sight of Aichi's smile as he was surrounded by some deer, making pleasant conversation with them despite the odd looks from people nearby. He couldn't ruin this for the blue haired male; not when he was enjoying himself so much. He was willing to put up with it for the prince's sake.

As if feeling the older male's discomfort, Aichi looked to see Kai standing around nervously. The younger male made his way through the deer, apologizing as he did so, and walked over to his lover. "Are you okay?"

Teal eyes met with cerulean. "It's fine. Don't worry about me."

Aichi frowned. "You don't look fine."

"It's just…" Kai bit his lip as he shuddered. "I'm not very good around animals..."

At that moment, Aichi understood what he meant and mentally slapped himself for being so inconsiderate. He knew Kai was terrible around cats as they seemed to sense the beast within the brunet, but he never stopped to think there were any other animals he couldn't handle to be around. Feeling pained to see his beloved so uneasy about being here, it was Aichi's turn to take Kai's hand and led him out of the petting zoo.

As soon as they were out of there, Kai was able to relax and calm down. As much as he wanted to get along with animals, they themselves didn't like him. He then looked at Aichi, who appeared rather sullen. He didn't know why he pulled him out of there when the blue haired male appeared to be enjoying himself so much. "What's wrong?"

Aichi looked up at him before staring at the ground. "I think we should go home now."

Teal eyes widened. "How come? I thought you were enjoying yourself."

"I was." the younger male replied. "But I don't want to do so at your expense. If we are to go out on a date, I want us both to enjoy ourselves. If not, then I'd rather go home where we're both comfortable."

Kai felt guilty. All he wanted was to get to know the winged male in the only way he knew how that didn't involve asking him directly due to his socially awkward tendencies. He never intended to do anything to make Aichi upset. He didn't want the date to end just yet though; not on such a sour note. He caught sight of a sign from a distance, giving him an idea.

"Let's just go to one more place together." he suggested.

Aichi looked at him with such a disapproving look. "Kai…"

"Just one more place. And I promise; it'll be something we'll both like."

The blue haired male was still unsure about it. Although he was having fun earlier, he didn't like seeing the older male pushing himself just to make him happy. But staring into his eyes, he could see that they were sincere. He sighed. "Okay. Where are we going?"

Kai smiled before taking Aichi's smaller hand into his. "It's a surprise." And with that, he led him in the direction the sign he saw said to go.

They continued walking until they were in a giant open area where a giant round object was towering above them. Aichi was in awe with what he was seeing. He remembered seeing it once or twice on TV. He couldn't remember what it was called though. He looked over at Kai, who despite his expression not changing, his eyes gleamed with satisfaction. Wasting no time, Kai paid for their tickets, then they waited until it was their turn. As soon as that time came, they got on and they prepared for what was to come.

What Kai had taken Aichi to was a place where they were offering hot air balloon rides for a limited time. The brunet was relieved that it was happening on the same time he and Aichi went on their date and that they were able to get the chance to not only ride it, but to have the balloon all to themselves aside from the pilot. To make it even more magical, by the time they got on and began flying, sunset was approaching, and the orange and purple hues in the sky provided a beautiful, romantic view for the young couple.

"So…" Kai spoke up. "What do you think of the hot air balloon? Probably not the way of flying you would've preferred but…"

Aichi shook his head. "It's wonderful."

The older male smiled. "I'm glad."

"Do you like it too?" The winged male asked.

"I do." said Kai. "I don't have wings so this is a nice alternative."

Aichi smiled. He was happy to know that Kai was enjoying himself as well. He turned back to the view in front of him; the glow of the setting sun shining against the tall buildings of the city. First the roller coaster at night and then the hot air balloon at sunset; he couldn't help but think Earth had some incredible sights in the air. A part of him wished that he had the freedom to let out his wings and fly, exploring Earth from the sky. He let out a crestfallen sigh.

This didn't go unnoticed. Kai looked over at him with concern. "What's wrong?"

Another sigh. "Don't get me wrong; I've been having fun. I still am! It's just… it just reminds me of how much I miss home."

Kai took Aichi's hand into his own. "You'll be able to go home soon."

Aichi looked up at him. "At the same time, I don't want to leave this. I don't want to leave you."

The brunet tightened his grip as he stared into the younger male's eyes. Indeed, he too felt the same way. He didn't want to be separated from Aichi either. Although their time together had been short, the past half month had been the best days Kai had ever had. He didn't want to lose someone who brought him so much joy.

The two stayed like that in their own little world until the pilot spoke up, telling them that time was up and they were going to land the balloon. As soon as the balloon landing, they got out and headed home.

The entire walk home was completely silent. Aichi had no idea as to what to say after all that had happened. Despite some downsides, he enjoyed his date with Kai. He had no idea why the older male wanted to have this date in the first place, but he was glad that he did.

Little did he know that the date was not even done yet.

The moment they got home, Kai put the bag of books onto the desk, pulled out one of the recipe books, and skimmed through it. Aichi was unsure as to why. Did he plan to make something from one of the recipe books for dinner? Kai continued to go through the book until he saw a recipe he wanted to use and headed to the kitchen.

Some time had passed and Kai was almost finished with the food. He looked over at the younger male. "Do you still have some candles from the experiments?"

Aichi checked the bag he kept the experiment stuff in to see if there were any candles. "There are." he replied as soon as he saw a few in there. "Why?"

"Could you put them out ready?" Kai asked. "I'll light them once I finish up in here."

He didn't answer Aichi's question, and probably wouldn't until his intentions were made obvious. All Aichi could do was do what he said and take the candles out. Once he was finished cooking and had the food ready on the table, he walked over and grabbed the candles, lightly blowing on them, lighting them up with his fire breath. He then placed them around the apartment. Once they were in place, he turned off the lights; creating darkness in the room aside from the dimly lit candles.

It was a candlelight dinner.

It was a sudden but pleasant surprise for Aichi. He never perceived Kai as being a romantic, but the entire day was filled with new things for him to learn. To add onto the candlelight, the dinner itself was not a traditional Japanese dinner. It was a chicken dish with vegetables and seasoning. Aichi had no idea when Kai got all this, but nonetheless he could not deny how mouth watering it looked. Not wanting to waste any time, both sat down and began to eat.

From just the first bite, Aichi felt like he was in heaven. It tingled his taste buds and had such a savory flavor. Kai's cooking was so good, it would almost be hard for him to eat anyone else's cooking again. Meanwhile, after he had his own first bite of his food, Kai was trying hard to not eat like a savage animal and eat more like a proper person would. He was doing well the first three bites, but as soon as he got to his fourth, he was unable to control himself and so, he grabbed his portion of the chicken with his bare hands and started ripping it apart, creating a mess on his plate and on his face.

He snapped out of it as soon as his now golden eyes met with the cerulean in front of him. Aichi was surprised by the brunet suddenly eating all primitively but he recovered pretty quickly and simply giggled. "You must've been pretty hungry after the day we had."

Kai dropped the chicken back onto the plate, sat up straight, and cleared his throat. "Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" Aichi asked. "You haven't done anything wrong."

"I…" Kai began to say, but was trying to find the words to explain himself. "... I don't know what is going on with me. It's like with each passing day, I find myself becoming less and less human." He stared down at his hands. "Who knows what I'll become and when…"

Aichi took a napkin and crawled over to Kai's side. He then began to wipe the mess around the older male's face. "No matter what you'll become, I know you'll always be Kai."

"... Even if I become a monster?"

"You'll never be a monster."

"But what if I do?"

The blue haired male gave him a gentle smile. "... In the off chance you become a monster, which I guarantee you won't, I'll be there to snap you out of it."

Kai was in awe. The winged male had so much confidence in him; convinced that he would never be a monster, and truly would stay by him regardless. There was a part of him that believed that they were only pretty words to help him feel better, but nonetheless he truly appreciated the sentiment.

They finished their food and cleaned up. Aichi offered to help with cleaning the dishes, but Kai was unsure if any would be left in tact if he let the prince help. After some persuasion, Aichi finally gave up and went back to reading more of the Cloudlands book, wanting to know what more was contained in its pages. Were there more things like this 'Psyqualia' power that Aichi possibly contained that would help him learn about more of the mysteries that surrounded him? He read the book all the way through and aside from Psyqualia, everything else written there was all basic knowledge he already knew. He appreciated the book for giving him an idea to his powers though, and it was more than enough.

After he finished washing the dishes, Kai walked over to the desk and picked up the bag with the rest of the recipe books. He put all of them away on the shelves until there was only one book left in the bag. He then walked over to Aichi on the bed and handed the bag to him.

"Here." said Kai. "... I want you to take it… as thanks…"

Aichi was confused. What was it that Kai gave him? He reached into the bag and pulled out a book. It wasn't just any book though. It was the book that Aichi kept eyeing in the shop; Romantic Journey in Another World. He stared at the cover in awe before looking back up at the brunet. Tears began to well up in cerulean eyes and streamed down rosy cheeks. Kai was caught off guard by this and panicked slightly.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Do you not like it?"

The blue haired male shook his head as he held the book close to his chest. "I love it." he sobbed. "It's just… you didn't have to…"

"I wanted to." Kai replied. He scratched his head as he looked away; face bright red. "I… like it when you smile…"

As if those were the magic words, Aichi let out a small chuckle as a big bright smile crossed his face. He began wiping the tears from his eyes. "Was everything we did today just to make me smile?"

Kai's face turned redder. "I… wanted… to know you more…"

Aichi was surprised to hear that, but immediately regained his smile. He stood up and moved closer to the taller male, trying to make eye contact with him. "You should've said so." he giggled. "You know I want to know more about you too." His eyes gleamed as he had another idea. "You said that dates are a good way to learn the other person, right? That's why you made this date in the first place. Then we should go on another date! This time, we'll do things we both like, and not just one sided selfishness like today was!"

With that, Kai's face was so red, it was like it was glowing. His mind was muddled, trying to comprehend what had just been suggested. He was even having a hard time making coherent sentences; he was that flustered. He was then able to get one word out that wasn't pure gibberish. "I-I-Immediately?!"

"Is that bad?" the prince asked innocently.

The brunet began to try to calm himself down so he could speak properly. He took a deep breath and then exhaled it, repeating it a couple more times before answering the younger male's question. "I've never of anyone going on dates frequently. It would be too expensive to do it a lot like this."

Aichi frowned. "So is that a no?"

"I didn't mean it like that." Kai began to think. "How about five days from now, after we finish rehearsal, we can go onto another one? We'll even look online and plan it together. That sound good?"

Cerulean hues sparkled. "Could we?! That would be great! I can't wait!"

Kai smiled. It always made him happy to see Aichi so happy, and he had to be honest; he couldn't wait for the next date either. He had to admit that despite being fun, this first date was sloppy in execution. With Aichi's input on what they should and shouldn't do, he was sure this next date would be even better.


End file.
